Dragon-X: The Dimension of Dragons
by Fantasymaker76
Summary: The First Year of Duel Academy is over and the Summer Holidays are here. But an Old Enemy returns to steal the Old God Cards and use their power to take over the world. The team must band together again on another adventure to defeat them and recover the Old God Cards, an adventure which would take them to a whole new world.
1. Knight of Gems

**Knight of Gems:**

In the weeks following the duel between Zane and Jaden in the graduation duel, the final exams for the school year had taken place. The results of these would determine if the returning students from the first and second years would move up to the next dorm when they return after the summer holidays. Now that the exams were over, there were no more lessons to be taught and the days were just for practicing duels until the Holidays started in a few days when the ship would arrive to take everyone back to Domino City to be picked up by their parents.

In the Slifer Red Dorm, Jaden Yuki sat in the school canteen with his friend Syrus Truesdale as they had some rice. Most of the Slifer Red Students were in their rooms, they were all relieved that the exams were over and some hoped that they had done well enough to be promoted up to Ra Yellow. Along with Jaden and Syrus, Chazz Princeton was also in the canteen as well as Kallian Tabris and Faren Brosca.

"Man, I can't believe the final exams are now over" Syrus sighed "Now I'm no longer full of stress."

"Yeah and in about a week, we'll be back in Domino City for the Summer Holidays" Kallian added

"And then we'll just have to wait until summer's over and we'll be back here for our second year" Faren added

"Well I don't know how you were feeling during those exams, but I sure had a good nap" Jaden stated cheerfully

Chazz groaned "You mean you slept through your exams?" he hissed, Chazz was no longer the arrogant person he had been at the start of the year but he still got annoyed with Jaden sleeping through classes "If you keep sleeping through your exams then you'll never advance to the next dorm"

"Chazz is right Jaden" Syrus stated "Remember, Chumley flunked his exams and got held back three years"

"Yeah but even so, Slifer Red is sweet" Jaden stated "And I can't wait to come back here next year. I mean this year I got to face Kaiba's deck, duel the Paradox brothers, take part in the School Duel and help save the world from those Sacred Beasts and the Shadow Riders. So I wonder what I will face this year"

"Well I think we've had enough excitement for one year" Kallian stated "I would prefer to have a normal quiet year next year"

"So what do you plan to do during the holidays?" Faren asked everyone "I don't really have any plans"

"Well my parents are usually busy with work so I will probably be duelling others around Domino city" Jaden stated

"I will be staying with my parents" Kallian stated "We plan to go on a trip to America for the holidays"

"Well my parents and I have to help prepare Zane" Syrus added "At the end of the Holidays, he will be entering the Pro League which means that he will be facing expert duellists and these people may be even more skilled than he is. Some of these pro-duellists have be duelling for years"

"I'm sure Zane will do well" Jaden stated and then he turned to Chazz "What about you Chazz?" he asked "What do you have planned for the summer"

"I don't really know" Chazz stated "I don't want anything to do with my brothers after what they've done so I just want to stay clear of them"

"Speaking of family Solona and Daylen seem to be happy with their father" Kallian stated

"Well Aristide Amell had been missing for some time" Jaden stated "And now he's back so this is the first time that the Amells are together as a family for their holidays"

...

Jaden was right about the Amell family. Aristide Amell was currently in the Obelisk Blue Boys dorm with his son Daylen along with his daughter Solona. Solona had been allowed in the Boys dorm with her father so they could have a chat. The young girl Avexis who had been one of the Shadow Riders was also with them.

"This is going to be the first time in nearly 5 years that we will all be together as a family" Solona stated

"Mother has missed you dad" Daylen added

"Well I'm looking forward to seeing Revka again" Aristide smiled "And we'll be doing a lot of activities over the summer. I need to make up for those years that I've missed being with you"

Then Aristide felt someone tug on his leg, he looked down to see Avexis tugging on his leg with sad eyes "And what about me?" she asked "Please don't send me back to the orphanage, I hate it there."

Aristide smiled and lifted Avexis up onto his lap "Don't worry Avexis" he said "We're not going to leave you, you may not be one of my blood but I will treat you like a daughter. I just need to get the paperwork so we can legally adopt you."

Avexis smiled and then hugged Aristide around the neck.

Solona and Daylen smiled at this, they couldn't wait to introduce Avexis to their mother and they would have a little sister with them in the House. Then the door opened and the two looked to see their auburn haired friend Aedan Cousland enter with someone they didn't recognise. The man had short black hair and wore an Obelisk Blue uniform and looked to be a second year student.

"Hey Solona, hey Daylen" Aedan greeted "I'm sorry to bother your family meeting but this guy asked me to take him to you. He wanted to ask you something."

"Well, who are you and what do you want?" Solona asked

The boy looked at her "My name is Crassius Servis" he stated "I am here because I wanted to ask you Solona if I could have a duel"

"You want a duel with my sister?" Daylen questioned "Why?"

"Just a friendly duel" Servis answered "It just this might be my only chance, there is a possibility that I may not be returning next year as my family are having a few issues so I may not be able to return."

"Well I'm always up for a duel" Solona replied "Just give me time to prepare then meet me outside the Obelisk Boys Dorm in a few hours"

"I will" Servis answered as he left.

"So it seems we've be having one last duel before we leave the island" Daylen stated

"We will" Solona answered "Now I just need to go back to my room to get my Duel Disk and deck. And I might as well inform my friends about this, they'll want to watch this"

"Jaden especially" Daylen laughed "He never misses a duel. I'll go get him"

"I'll go see Theorn and the others at the Yellow Dorm" Aedan added "They'll want to watch this duel as well.

...

Over at the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm, Alexis Rhodes along with her friends, Sereda, Jasmine and Mindy were talking with each other about their plans "So what do you plan to do after you graduate from Duel Academy?" Jasmine asked

"Well, I was hoping to carry on and become a pro duellist just like my father" Sereda stated "I want to make my father proud of me"

"You know, you've never talked about your father" Alexis stated "Or your family?"

"Well, my brothers and I do have issues with each other" Sereda stated "My oldest brother Trian always likes to push people around but he's not an arrogant snob. He is the heir to father's fortune that he's made through his years of duelling but no one likes him which makes him frustrated"

"What about your other brother?" Mindy asked

"Bhelen is cunning" Sereda answered "He's not planning on coming to Duel Academy as he's thinking of going to a different academy, he acts like he's a weak duellist but he's good at tricking his opponents to fall into traps, he prefers a more sneaky way of defeating his opponents but he doesn't cheat."

"Well that is one way to defeat your opponents" Alexis stated "Some duellists are arrogant and can fall into traps because they're not paying attention"

Then there was a beeping noise which came from Sereda's Duel Pilot and she pulled it out and answered it "Sereda, are you there?" the voice of Aedan called

"Hey Aedan" Sereda answered "What is it?"

"I was just calling you to ask you something" Aedan stated "Solona is just about to have a duel with someone and I was just wondering if you wanted to watch. Theon and Neria have said that they're going to watch the duel and I'm sure Jaden will want to watch as well"

"Who is Solona going to duel?" Sereda asked

"An Obelisk Blue student called Servis" Aedan answered "He just wanted a friendly duel to challenge himself"

Sereda thought for a moment and then answered "I think I will be watching this duel" she stated "Where will she be duelling?"

"Just in front of the Obelisk Blue Boys dorm" Aedan answered

"I'll be right there" Sereda stated and then she ended the call and then looked at the others "Well I've got to go to the Boy's Dorm to watch Solona's Duel"

"I think I'll come as well" Alexis stated "I would like to see this duel"

"Well, Mindy and I are going to get our things ready for going home" Jasmine stated

...

Jaden and Syrus were walking along the path towards Duel Academy "Hey Jaden" Syrus stated "Why are we doing to the shop?"

"Because I want to see if there are any cards left before we leave" Jaden stated "And I think I'll have a go for a Sandwich, I might even get the Golden Eggwich.

Syrus decided that he too could do with some new cards for his deck, but then he saw someone familiar "Hey, isn't that Theorn and Neria?" he asked

"It is" Jaden stated as they approached the two Ra Yellow students "Hey you two" he greeted "What's up?"

"We're just on our way to the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm" Theorn stated

"Why are you going there?" Syrus asked

"To watch the duel that's about to happen" Neria answered

"A duel" Jaden gasped "That's sweet, forget about the Card shop, I've got to see this duel"

"Well let's go" Theorn stated as the four began to walk towards the dorm

"So who's duelling?" Jaden asked

"Solona will be" Theorn stated "Aedan just called us on his duel Pilot to say that Solona was having a Duel with an Obelisk Blue student called Crassius Servis"

They soon arrived at the Dorm where they saw Sereda and Alexis had already arrived and were standing with Aristide, Daylen and Aedan "I should have known that you would come Jaden" Alexis stated "You never miss a duel"

"I sure wouldn't" Jaden smiled "And I wonder how this Servis duels"

"Well we're about to find out" Daylen smiled as she watched Solona and Servis stand opposite each other as they shuffled each other's decks.

"I can't wait to see how you do against my deck" Servis stated

"And I wonder what kind of deck you duel with" Solona added and then they handed the decks back and then walked to the edge of the field and activated their Duel Disks and drew 5 cards each

" **DUEL!"**

 **Solona: 8000  
Servis: 8000**

"Since I challenged you, you can take the first move" Servis said

"Thank you, my draw" Solona stated as she drew her 6th card "And I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode" The large purple scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level; 4 Attack: 1900 Defence: 1600) "Then I will throw two cards facedown and end my turn"

"My turn" Servis stated as he drew his 6th card "And I play Foolish burial so now I can discard one card in my deck to the graveyard." Servis sent a monster in his neck and sent it to his graveyard "And then I'll play another spell card, Gem Knight Fusion"

"Wait, what fusion?" Syrus gasped

"Gem Knight Fusion" Servis stated "Now I can select one Gem Knight Fusion Monster in my extra deck and summon it by discarding the materials from my hand, so now I sacrifice Gem Knight Garnet and Gem Knight Obsidian in my hand which will allow me to summon out Gem Knight Citrine" a black armoured knight with a black cape and arms made from lava appeared on the field with a sword of fire (Level 7 Attack 2200 Defence 1950) "And also, the effect of Obsidian activates, since I sent him from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon 1 level 4 or below Gem Knight from my graveyard, so I summon the card I discarded with Foolish Burial, Gem Knight Emerald." A green armoured knight with clubs attacked to his hands appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800)

"Wow, a fusion summon on his first turn" Jaden gasped "This guy really is a skilled duellist."

"And it's not looking good for Solona" Alexis added "Now Servis can destroy her monster and deal her a good amount of damage"

"And now, Citrine attack" Servis ordered "And don't even think of activating your facedowns because when Citrine attacks, you can't activate any cards or effects until the end of the damage step" Citrine's flaming sword slashed through Luster Dragon causing the dragon to screech before shattering.

 **Solona: 7700  
Servis: 8000**

"And now my Emerald will attack you directly" Servis added as Emerald leapt at Solona and punched her.

 **Solona: 5900  
Servis: 8000**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis finished

"Wow, first move and already Solona's losing" Aedan stated

"Well this duel has only just started" Daylen stated "And my sister still has some tricks to play"

"My turn" Solona stated as she drew her next card "And now I play my trap card, Call of the Haunted, which allows me to summon back my Luster Dragon from my graveyard" The purple scaled Dragon appeared on the field again "And now I summon Kaibaman in attack mode" the small Kaiba like monster appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 700) "But he won't be around for long because now I activate his special ability, so now by tributing him, I can summon the great Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand" Kaibaman was engulfed in a bright light and the large blue eyed, white scaled dragon appeared in his place (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And now Blue Eyes, attack that Citrine with Burst Stream of Destruction" Blue Eyes unleashed a blast of blue fire which engulfed and destroyed Citrine.

 **Solona: 5900  
Servis: 7200**

"And I still have my Luster Dragon to attack with" Solona added "Now attack Emerald" Luster Dragon sent a blast of purple shards which destroyed Emerald.

 **Solona: 5900  
Servis: 7100**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

"You're good" Servis stated "I can see why you're a skilled duellist. Now it's my turn and I'll start by summoning Gem Knight Alexandrite to the field in attack mode." A purple warrior made from rock and covered in gems appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200)

"What good is that going to do?" Syrus questioned "It doesn't have the attack power to destroy any of Solona's monsters"

"It will do when I activate these spell cards" Servis smirked "2 Gem Souls. Now by equipping these cards to Alexandrite, he gains 400 attack points for each one, so with 2, that gives him 800 more attack points" Alexandrite glowed as he gained more power (GKA Attack 1800-2600) "And now Alexandrite, take out that Luster Dragon" Alexandrite glowed as he punched Luster Dragon and destroyed the dragon again causing her Call of the Haunted to shatter as well.

 **Solona: 5200  
Servis: 7100**

"And that will do it for my turn" Servis finished

"This duel is sweet" Jaden smiled "This guy really knows how to duel"

"My sister may have the most powerful monster on the field, but Servis still has more life points" Daylen stated

"We'll just have to see what she does next" Theorn stated

"My turn" Solona stated and smiled at what she drew "And first off, I'll play my other facedown card, Oasis of Dragon Souls, this card brings back by Luster Dragon in defence mode though it becomes a wyrm type monster. Though that won't matter because I'm now sacrificing Luster Dragon in order to summon the more powerful version, Luster Dragon #2" A blue scaled version of Luster Dragon appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1400) "But I'm not done, I now play Polymerization, you're not the only one who can use fusions, now I fuse my Blue Eyes on the field with a second one in my hand in order to summon Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon." The two headed Blue Eyes Dragon made of crystal appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And now Twin Burst attack" One of the two heads of Twin Burst unleashed a blast of blue fire which engulfed Alexandrite, but when the smoke cleared, the monster was still there.

"Thanks to the effect of Gem Soul, by sacrificing it, Alexandrite isn't destroyed" Servis stated as one of his Gem Souls shattered (GKA Attack 2600-2200)

"But you still take damage" Solona stated as Servis lost life points

 **Solona: 5200  
Servis: 6700**

"And if you think you can save your Alexandrite then you're wrong" Solona added "My Twin Burst can attack twice per turn so now attack again" The second head unleashed a blast of blue magic which engulfed Alexandrite and the second Gem Soul shattered (GKA Attack: 2200-1800)

 **Solona: 5200  
Servis: 5900**

"And now Luster Dragon #2, finish that Alexandrite off" Solona ordered as Luster Dragon #2 unleashed a blast of fire which engulfed Alexandrite and with nothing to protect it this time, Alexandrite exploded

 **Solona: 5200  
Servis: 5300**

"I end my turn" Solona finished

"Great, now Solona has one of her most powerful monsters on her field" Alexis smiled

"And since Twin Burst can be destroyed in battle, Solona has the upper hand" Sereda added

"Well Servis has surprised us already" Aedan stated "So we just have to see what happens next"

"My move" Servis stated as he drew his next card and smiled at it "First of all, I activate the effect of Gem Knight Fusion in my graveyard, now by banishing one Gem Knight in my graveyard, the spell card comes back to my hand. So I banish Garnet." Servis removed his Garnet from play and added Gem Knight Fusion to his hand

"He must be preparing for a fusion summoning" Jaden smiled "I can't wait to see what this next fusion monster will be"

"Now I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw 2 more cards" Servis stated as he drew two new cards from his deck "And now I play Gem Knight Fusion and fuse Gem Knights Sapphire and Crystal in my hand in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Aquamarine in attack mode" An aqua blue monster with a black cape appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1400 Defence 2600) "And now Aquamarine, attack that Luster Dragon #2"

"Wait, why is he going that?" Syrus questioned "Luster Dragon #2 is a stronger monster"

"Yeah, it seems that Servis has miscalculated" Jaden added

"No I haven't" Servis smirked "I know that Aquamarine is weaker but he won't be when I play this spell card" he showed the spell card which made everyone gasp as it was the same card that caused Jaden and Zane's duel have very powerful monsters "I play the spell card Battle Fusion so now my Aquamarine gains attack points equal to the attack points of your Luster Dragon #2" Aquamarine glowed as he gained more attack points (GKA Attack 1400-3800) Then Aquamarine punched Luster Dragon #2 which caused the dragon to groan before shattering.

 **Solona: 3800  
Servis: 5300**

"And now I will lend my turn" Servis finished and Aquamarine's attack points returned to normal (GKA Attack 3800-1400)

"My turn" Solona stated as she drew her next card "And I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode" A long yellow snake like dragon with greenish blue hair appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 600) "And then I will end my turn"

"Wait, why didn't she attack?" Jaden questioned "She could have taken Servis out with her monsters"

"Because she would have fallen into a trap Jaden" Alexis stated

"This is why you should do your homework and study" Aedan groaned "When Aquamarine is destroyed, Servis can return one card to Solona's hand so she didn't want to risk losing one of her best monsters"

Servis smiled "So I see you knew about the trap I had waiting" he stated "I'm impressed, but I still have another trick to play. I play the spell card Diffusion which separates Aquamarine into the 2 monsters I used to summon him, Gem Knight Sapphire and Gem Knight Crystal." A knight in white armour with crystals on appeared on the field ready to fight (Level 7 Attack 2450 Defence 1950) along with a pale blue warrior who had a barrier protecting him who knelt down in defence mode (Level 4 Attack 0 Defence 2100) "And while these monsters may not be powerful enough to take out that Twin Burst, this spell card will help with that, I play the spell Card Gem Cannon, here's how it works, I sacrifice a level 7 or higher Gem Knight monster and every card on your field will be destroyed"

"But that would leave Solona defenceless!" Theorn gasped

"Now cannon, destroy every card on her field with the power of my Crystal" Servis stated as a large cannon appeared on the field, Gem Knight Crystal was absorbed and then the cannon fired a blast which created a large explosion on Solona's field, when the smoke cleared, Solona's Twin Burst and Mirage Dragon were gone "There is a downside to my cannon" Servis added "I can't attack this turn so now I end my turn"

"Great, now Solona has no monsters and less life points" Theorn stated

"Well Solona still has some of her best cards to use" Daylen stated

"That's right" Aristide smiled "My daughter never gives up until the Duel is over"

"My turn" Solona stated as she drew her next card, when she looked at the card, she smiled "Well, I hope you're ready to face one of my great beasts again, I summon Lord of D in attack mode." The dragon priest with the hat made from dragon bones appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1100) "While he may not be strong enough to take out your Sapphire, he won't be around for long, I discard this monster from my hand to activate it's ability, Sage with Eyes of Blue, now by discarding him and tributing my Lord of D, I can summon my third Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck" Lord of D was engulfed in a bright light and then Solona's third Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared in his place. "And now, Blue Eyes destroy that Sapphire." Blue Eyes unleashed a blast of blue fire which destroyed Sapphire "And now I will end my turn"

"My move" Servis stated "And I will summon Gem Knight Amber in attack mode" a small knight wearing orange armour, holding a flaming sword in one hand and a ball of fire in the other appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1400) "And now I play his special ability, now by discarding my Gem Knight Lazuil from my hand, I can get back my Gem Knight Garnet which I banished earlier. But also, Lazuil's ability activates, when she is sent to the graveyard by an effect, I can add a Gem Knight Normal Monster in my graveyard to my hand so I choose my Sapphire. Now I will throw this card facedown and end my turn"

Solona drew her next card' I can deal damage but he might have a trap waiting for me' she though 'I better play this safe' "I play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that facedown card" A tornado blew onto the field which blew the facedown card away, revealing it to be Mirror Force "It's a good job I destroyed that card then" she smiled "Now Blue Eyes, Attack Amber" Blue Eyes unleashed a blast of fire which engulfed Amber and destroyed him.

 **Solona: 3800  
Servis: 3900**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

"Great job" Servis smiled "You saved yourself from falling into my trap, but now it's time to face another one of my Fusion Monsters, I summon Gem Knight Lapis in attack mode" a small purple female knight appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 100) "Then I play the spell card Polymerization to fuse Gem Knights Garnet and Sapphire in my hand." The spirits of Garnet and Sapphire appeared on the field which then merged together "I Fusion Summon, Gem Knight Ruby in attack mode" A large, bright red armoured knight with a blue cape and a large axe appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1300) "And while he may not be strong enough to defeat your Blue Eyes but his special ability will take care of that, now by sacrificing my Lapis, Ruby gains her attack points until the end of this turn" Lapis turned into a beam of light which was absorbed by Ruby's axe (GKR Attack 2500-3700) "And now Ruby, slay her dragon" Ruby swung his axe which sliced through Blue Eyes and caused the monster to shatter.

 **Solona: 3100  
Servis: 3900**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis finished

"And now it is my turn" Solona said as she drew her card and smiled at what she drew "I play one of my favourite cards, the spell card Dragon's Mirror"

"All right" Jaden cheered "One of Solona's best cards"

"Now I fuse the 3 blue eyes in my graveyard in order to Fusion Summon, the all might Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon" Solona claimed as her 3 Blue Eyes merged to form the massive 3 headed blue scaled dragon (Level 12 Attack 4500 Defence 3800) "And now my ultimate Dragon attacks your Ruby" Each of the three heads fired a blast which combined into one and struck Ruby causing the Knight to moan before shattering

 **Solona: 3100  
Servis: 1900**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

"Great" Aedan smiled "Now Solona has her best monster on the field"

"But this Servis has impressed us with his duelling" Theorn stated "He really is a skilled duellist and deserves his position in Obelisk Blue"

"We'll just see how he comes out of this now" Neria stated

"You do not disappoint Solona" Servis stated "You really are a great Duellist, but let's see how you do against my strongest monster" he then drew his next card "And I'll start by activating the Dark Room of Mass Production which allows me to get 2 Normal Monsters back to my Hand so Garnet and Sapphire return to my hand. Then I will activate the effect of Gem Knight Fusion in my graveyard, now by removing Emerald from play, the spell returns to my hand." Gem Knight Fusion returned to Servis; hand along with his Garnet and Sapphire "And now I will fuse Garnet and Sapphire together along with a second Gem Knight Lapis which allows me to summon my most powerful Gem Knight. Beyond the power of Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond" The three Gem Knights were sucked into a portal and merged to form a large female knight with a sword and diamonds on her armour (Level 10 Attack 3400 Defence 2000) "However I can't use her ability since I don't have another Gem Knight on my field. But with the power of Shrink, I can half the attack points of your Ultimate Dragon." Ultimate Dragon groaned as he lost some of his power. (BEUD Attack 4500-2250) "Now attack that Dragon" Lady Brilliant Diamond slashed her sword and slashed each of the heads of Ultimate Dragon and destroyed the Dragon.

 **Solona: 1950  
Servis: 1900**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis finished "But on your next turn, you better do something as when I summon out another Gem Knight, I can sacrifice it to use Brilliant Diamond's effect and then I can summon another Gem Knight Fusion Monster from my extra deck, ignoring its summoning conditions. But that will have to wait for now. It's your move"

"Well my sister has to draw a good card this turn" Daylen stated

"That's right" Theorn stated "She may have more life points but she has no monsters and even if she summons one out, that Lady Brilliant Diamond will take it out and a second Fusion monster will defeat her"

"Solona has pulled out of situations like this before" Neria stated

"I'm sure she can find a way to get out of this" Sereda agreed

'This is my last turn' Solona thought as she looked at her deck 'at least this is just a friendly duel so there is nothing at stake for me' then she drew her card "I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards" Solona stated as she drew 2 extra cards from her deck and she smiled at them "Now I play the spell card Magical Stone Excavation, now by discarding two cards in my hand, I can get my Dragon's Mirror back to my hand. Then I will play it which allows me to fuse my 2 Luster dragons, my Mirage Dragon, my ultimate Dragon and my Twin Burst Dragon in order to summon my most powerful monster. Come on out Five Headed Dragon" the large five headed dragon with each head made from a different Element appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000) "And now I play Premature Burial, now by paying 800 life points, I get my Lord of D back from my Graveyard." Solona's Dragon Priest also appeared on the field.

 **Solona: 1150  
Servis: 1900**

Servis smiled and realised that this duel was over, there was nothing he could do "Well done, you win this duel, so go on, end this duel now then"

Solona nodded "Now Five Headed Dragon, destroy that Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond" she ordered as each head fired a blast of its own element which combined into one big blast which struck Lady Brilliant Diamond and destroyed her.

 **Solona: 1150  
Servis: 300**

"And now Lord of D, end this duel" Solona finished as Lord of D sent a blast of magic which struck Servis and ended the Duel.

 **Solona: 1150 (Winner)  
Servis: 0000**

Servis smiled as he deactivated his Duel Disk "You really are a skilled duellist" he stated "But I want a rematch in the future"

"I'm looking forward to it" Solona smiled as she shook Servis' hand

Then the rest of Solona's friends came along "Great Duel Solona" Sereda stated

"You made quite a comeback there" Aedan added

"That was a sweet Duel" Jaden smiled and he looked at Servis "I hope we get a chance to throw down one day"

Servis looked at Jaden "Maybe you'll get your chance next school year" he said "Well it's been nice meeting you all"

"It's been nice meeting you as well Servis" Daylen smiled "Well, we better all get ready to go home; the ship comes in a few days"

Solona and all her friends began going their separate ways but none of them noticed the wicked sneer on Servis' face.

...

Later at night, Servis was walking through the Northern Forest where he soon came to a large stone table with ancient Ritual stuff around including a strange shrine. Servis knelt in front of the shrine and placed his hand on it, and then a glowing blue figure appeared in front of him wearing a white rode with a large white hat "Well my minion" the figure stated "Was your mission a success?"

"It was master Gordian" Servis stated "I have managed to gain the Amell Girl's trust"

"Good, this will be important for our master plan to bring the girl to us" Gordian stated "Livius and the others are waiting for the Elder One to choose who to send to assist you, as skilled as you are and despite my faith in you, the Elder One will not accept failure this time and is taking no chances, your assistance will meet you at the old abandoned Dorm Tomorrow Night to discuss the plans, until them, maintain your friendship with the Amell Girl"

"Understood Master Gordian" Servis stated as the figure faded and Servis began to make a wicked laugh "Soon Amell Girl, you will belong to the Venatori and help us bring the Old God Cards together and we shall take over the world"

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes:**

 **Well, now my next part of the Dragon-X series has begun. This is a story of my own setting but still in the GX universe, it is set between Seasons 1 and 2 and will feature the Venatori as the main villains. XYZ monsters and Synchro monsters will be making a major appearance later on with the new cards added to character decks. I'm still looking for deck ideas for some future characters I'm planning to add but I need to try and find spellcasters and Warrior decks. Also, the only GX characters that will be making a major appearance in this story will be Jaden, Chazz, Alexis, Crowler and Zane.**

 **Gem Knight Created cards:**

 **Gem Soul: Equip spell: Equip to a Gem knight monster, it gains 300 attack points, if a monster equipped with this card would be destroyed, destroy this card instead.**

 **Gem Cannon: Normal Spell: Tribute 1 level 7 or higher Gem Knight Monster, destroy every card on your opponent's field, you cannot conduct your Battle phase on the turn you activate this card.**


	2. Enemy Arrivals

**Enemy arrivals:**

In an unknown place, the members of the Venatori had gathered as the Elder One had news for them. Livius Erimond, the second in command of the Venatori was in front of the others due to him being the highest member of the Venatori. Calpernia stood near him with 2 of her commanders, Henley and Macrinus. Gordian stood next to Calpernia with his top man Lucanus. And finally General Samson was there with his top man Denam.

"Our mission is about ready to go" the Elder One stated "We have the 4 or the Old God cards and soon we will have the remaining 3. And when we do, we shall conquer the Dimensions starting with this one"

"And then you will be a god" Livius stated "And we will forever be your servants in the world you create"

The Elder One turned to Gordian "So tell us, how has your servant done with the mission you sent him on?"

Gordian smiled "Servis has gained the trust of the Amell Girl through a friendly duel. Now we have what we need to capture her, but we will have to move quick, Servis has told me that the school year at their school is coming to an end and if we miss it then we would have to wait until the next school year and you would not want to wait that long"

"Then I will send someone to assist him" The Elder One stated and then he turned to Calpernia "How goes your search for the final Old God Card, we know that Razikale and Urthemiel are held by the Amell girl but we still don't know where Lusacan is but we know that it is somewhere is this dimension, most likely in one of the Old Ruins."

"I want that card found as soon as it can be" The Elder One stated "But we still have two more to collect as well. We shall bring the Amell Girl to us and we'll take Urthemiel from her"

"But master" Livius stated "What about Razikale, the Amell boy still holds that card ever since Alexius foolishly lost it to him"

"The boy will come to us" The Elder one stated "He will come after his sister but the boy is no use to us, it's the girl we want and I want her captured and brought to us." He then looked at Livius "And because this mission is very important, I want you to do this mission Livius, remember, the girl must be brought here and I will not accept failure"

"So I have to duel her and win?" Livius questioned and then sneered "I will not fail you"

"No" The Elder One stated "The girl is too powerful with Urthemiel in her deck. I'm not taking any chances by letting you borrow one of the four Old God Cards I've got left. You will take the girl by force, not by duelling. Servis will give you what you need to know, you will meet him back at Duel Academy Island at a place known as the Abandoned Dorm, an old dorm which has since been abandoned. I have the power to send you there but you will have to make your own way back using duelling energy." The Elder One then handed Livius a black duel disk, this duel Disk will help you create the energy you need to return." Then he handed him a glowing card "And I may not be able to give you one of the Old God cards but I can give you this card to help with your mission"

Livius looked at the card and sneered "I will not fail you master, and this card will sure be what I need"

"You better not fail!" the Elder One growled "Now one more thing, how is our war going on?"

"The war is going well" Samson stated "The Warriors and Spellcasters are fighting each other all over the Dimension. This chaos will make it easier for us to conquer this world. But the rebel forces are attacking our movements along the Graves, I sent Carroll and Duhaime to hunt them down, I only know that their leader is known as Fairbanks which is likely not his real name"

"They don't matter at the moment" The Elder One stated "What matters is getting the girl here."

"I will do what you order me to do master" Livius stated and then he vanished in a puff of black smoke.

...

At Duel Academy Island, it was night time and Servis was waiting for his assistance at the abandoned Dorm, his mission had been to gain the Amell Girl's trust so that the Venatori could capture her. But there was no way that he could do it on his own so he needed help and he already had a few ideas on who he could use to help him. Then there was a flash and Servis looked and saw Livius Erimond, the highest ranked member of the Venatori.

"So, I see the Elder One is taking no chances with this" Servis stated

"He sure isn't" Livius answered "The Elder One wants the Amell girl captured alive."

"Well we can't do it without help" Servis stated "She is surrounded by her friends at all times and they will not let her go. We need to get her alone to capture her."

"And how do we do that?" Livius demanded

Servis smirked "The master gave us the power to control other people's minds" he stated "We use that to take control of two of her friends. Most of them are too strong for us but there are two friends known as Jasmine and Mindy who are much weaker than the others. They're not really friends of the Amell girl but they are good friends of her friend Alexis. She would help them if they needed her help"

"That's good" Livius sneered "I like that. It would also come in handy to get some extra help in case the Amell girl's friends try something"

"I've already got someone in mind for that" Servis stated "A skilled Obelisk girl called Missy, she a skilled duellist and is really good. And then there are two arrogant boys called Torimaki and Raizou, they're arrogant but skilled. And they're not far from here now."

Livius smirked "You go and take care of this Missy, I'll take on the two boys and then we'll do something to take out the girl"

"Understood Master" Servis stated and then he left to complete his mission.

...

Not too far away, two Obelisk Blue boys walked together through the forest. One had spiky brown hair while the other had sleek bluish hair. They were Torimaki and Raizou, they had once been Chazz's friends when he was in Obelisk Blue but when Chazz lost to Jaden in the promotion duels, they had abandoned him. Unlike Chazz, they still kept their beliefs that Slifer Reds were slackers and Ra Yellows were rejects. But now most people had abandoned the two of them after Torimaki had lost to Kallian, Torimaki claimed it was just luck but now there were punishments for bullying. Several Obelisk Blues including the two of them had been punished with detention and a threat of demotion for the next year if they carried on bullying the lower dorms. But the threats of demotion did not stop the two of them.

"I don't get it Torimaki" Raizou hissed "Why does Sheppard concentrate so much on the slackers and rejects when he should focus on us elite duellists."

"Because Sheppard is a fool!" Torimaki hissed "Maybe next year our new Chancellor will focus on us more. I hear Sheppard will be away for a while doing something for Pegasus."

"Anyone is better than a Chancellor who ignores us." Raizou stated

"Or maybe the two of you are ready to leave this school for the pro leagues" a voice called and the two of them turned to see a man with black hair and beard and wearing a fancy red coat.

"Just who are you?" Torimaki demanded

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself, forgive me" the man stated "Livius Erimond at your service, let's just say that I'm someone who is looking for talent duellists to sponsor, Zane's already taken but you two seem like skilled duellists."

"You mean that you would help us enter the pro leagues?" Raizou gasped

"Well there is a catch" Livius stated "First you must beat me in a duel to see if you are worth it. And to make it better, I'll take the both of you on at once"

"You want to duel both of us?" Torimaki gasped and then sneered "I'm in"

"Me too" Raizou stated and then the two of them activate their duel disks while Livius activated his own and then they drew 5 cards each.

"Just to warn you, I've been duelling for years so let's see how good you two really are" Livius stated

" **DUEL!"**

 **Livius: 16000  
Torimaki: 8000  
Raizou: 8000**

"One of you two can take the first move" Livius stated

"I'll do it" Raizou stated as he drew his 6th card "And I'll start by summoning Vampire Lady in attack mode" a green skilled woman wearing a red dress appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1550 Defence 1550) and then I will throw one card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn" Livius stated as he drew his next card "And I'll start by summoning Zure Knight of Dark World in attack mode" a dark fiend monster wielding a sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1500) "And since I can't attack this turn, I'll end my turn by throwing two cards facedown"

"Well now it's my turn" Torimaki stated "And I'll start by summoning Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode" a large sparkling dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2000 Defence 100) "And since I went last, it means that I can attack your Knight, so go, attack and show him how I duel" Alexandrite roared and sent a jet of fire at Zure.

Livius smiled "Using a powerful monster to destroy mine is good" he stated "But you must watch out for traps like I have, I play the trap card Trap of Dark World, now by discarding one card, I can negate your attack" The jet of fire evaporated "But there's more, now the attack points of your Alexandrite are cut in half as long as this trap remains on my field."

"What!" Torimaki gasped as the bright scales on his dragon lost their colour (AD Attack 2000-1000)

"That is why you must be careful to watch out for traps" Livius smirked "And there is one more thing, the card I just discarded is Beiige Vanguard of Dark world and when he is discarded by an effect, he is summoned to my field" a skeleton like warrior holding a spear appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1300)

Torimaki growled "I end my turn by throwing one card facedown"

Livius smirked "You two are not much of a challenge that I thought." He stated "My turn and I'll start by playing the spell card Darkness half, now by cutting my Knights attack points in two, I can summon two Dark tokens onto your field. But since I get to choose, I choose to place them on the brown haired boy's field" Two Dark tokens appeared on Raizou's field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000) and Zure's attack points decreased (ZKODW Attack 1800-900) "Of course, it won't really matter, I sacrifice Zure to summon Goldd Warlord of Dark World" Zure vanished and was replaced with a golden like skeleton wielding a large axe appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400) "And now I have a better idea than just attacking, I play the spell card Dark tournament, now this card forces all your monsters to attack my monsters."

"But all our monsters are weaker than yours!" Torimaki gasped

"Well your monsters won't be destroyed but you will still take damage." Livius sneered "And since it's my turn, I get to choose who they attack so they will all attack my Warlord to deal you more damage." Raizou's two Dark tokens and Vampire lady all attacked but were forced back along with Alexandrite Dragon, but while no monsters were destroyed, both still took damage and to the shock of both boys, they felt it like the attacks were real.

 **Livius: 16000  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 4650**

"What is going on here?" Torimaki demanded

"I felt that" Raizou gasped "Those attacks were real"

Livius laughed "Just like I said before, you two don't think and you fell for my trap. I'm not someone who wants to sponsor you in the pro leagues, I'm a Shadow Duellist"

"A shadow Duellist!" Raizou gasped

"That's right!" Livius laughed "And if you two lose then you will be under my command"

"No, I want no part in this!" Raizou yelled

"Too late" Livius sneered "You can't stop duelling now since you accept my challenge. But now you need to make up for your mistakes, I end my turn and you better do something soon because I've just dealt you a lot of damage. It's your move"

Raizou quickly drew his next card in hopes that there was something he could do. When he looked at the card, he smiled at it "Well, it seems that I can thank you for my your Dark tokens." He stated "I'm not sacrificing one of them in order to summon Vampire Lord" a male version of vampire Lady appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 1500) "And now I am removing Vampire Lord from play to summon Vampire Genesis in attack mode" Vampire Lord vanished and was replaced by a huge purple skinned monster with bat wings on his back with sharp claws (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2100) "And now you will feel some pain, I play the spell card Lightning Vortex which destroys all your monsters as long as I discard one card" Raizou discarded a card and then there was a large lightning storm which blasted Livius' field and then all his monsters shattered "And now that your field is clear, I'm free to attack you directly and this time you have no traps to play so I'm safe, now go, attack him directly" Genesis opened his chest and a swarm of insects flew out and began scratching Livius. Vampire Lady leapt at Livius and scratched him while the remaining Dark Token slashed him.

 **Livius: 10450  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 4650**

But Livius didn't groan in pain like the two Obelisk boys did "I don't feel any pain" he laughed "I've done this so many times that I'm used to the pain, in fact, I enjoy it"

"Well you won't enjoy this" Raizou sneered "Now since Vampire Lady inflicted damage to you, you now have to discard one card of a type that I choose and I choose a monster type"

Livius laughed "Once again, you get cocky" he stated which confused the two boys "I will gladly discard this card, Grapha Dragon Lord of Dark World, now since he was discarded by your card effect, I can look at one card in your hand and if it's monster then it is summoned to my field" Livius selected a card in Raizou's hand and it turned out to be a monster "And I see that I have chosen Red Barron so now it belongs to me" a black knight holding a lance and sitting on top of a purple horse dressed in black armour appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000)

Raizou growled "I end my turn there" he stated

"My move" Livius sneered as he drew his next card "And I'll think I'll use your monster against you, now go, Vampire Red Baron, attack that Vampire Lady" the horse charged towards Raizou's field and then the knight thrust the lance forward which pierced Vampire Lady's chest. Vampire Lady screeched before shattering.

 **Livius: 10450  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 3800**

"And that will do it for my turn" Livius finished "Which means the Red Baron's effect activates which summons the monster it destroyed onto my field so now Vampire Lady belongs to me as well" Vampire Lady appeared on Livius' field.

"Well now it's my turn" Torimaki stated "And I intend to make a comeback after last time, this move is risky with your deck but worth it for what I'm about to do, I play the spell Card Destruction so now we all discard our entire hands" Livius, Torimaki and Raizou discarded their entire hands.

Livius smirked "Well lucky you, no effects activated for me" he stated

"Well, now I play the spell card Graceful Charity which allows me to draw three cards as long as I discard two." Torimaki drew three cards and discarded two of them "And that gives me enough monsters in my graveyard to activate this, Dragon's Mirror, which allows me to fuse Dragon monsters in my graveyard and field, so now by fusing 5 dragon monsters that are in my graveyard, I get to summon one of the most powerful monsters ever made, a powerful level 12 monster which some of the highest attack points, I fusion summon 5 Headed Dragon." The massive five headed Dragon with each head made from a different element appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000) "And since you have a Dark World Deck, that means that there is nothing in your deck that can defeat my dragon because it can't be destroyed by Wind, Fire, Earth, Dark or Water Attribute monsters"

"My, that is indeed one impressive monster" Livius stated

"And my turn's not over yet" Torimaki stated "I still have my normal summon so now I summon Red Eyes Black Chick in attack mode" a small red egg appeared on the field which then hatched to reveal a small black scaled dragon beginning to hatch (Level 1 Attack 800 Defence 500) "And now I will activate his ability, so now by sacrificing him, I can summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon from my hand" the chick was engulfed in a bright light and a much larger black scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2400 Defence 2000) "But there's more, because now I sacrifice him in order to summon the greatest Red Eyes monster there is, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon" Red Eyes Black Dragon was engulfed in fire and then the fire burnt away to reveal an even bigger black scaled dragon with red markings (Level 9 Attack 2400 Defence 2000) "And he gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard, so since there are two, he gains 600 attack points." Red Eyes Darkness Dragon glowed as he gained more power (REDD Attack 2400-3000) "And now I have the upper hand, go Red Eyes, destroy that Vampire Red Baron with Inferno Dark Fire" Red Eyes fired a blast of fire which engulfed Red Baron and destroyed him.

 **Livius: 9850  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 3800**

"And now it's time for you to see what my best monster can do" Torimaki stated "Five Headed Dragon attack Vampire Lady" Each of the Five Heads fired a blast which struck Vampire Lady causing the Vampire to shriek before shattering and the blast blew Livius back

 **Livius: 6400  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 3800**

"Now you see just how great a duellist I am" Torimaki boasted

Livius got up and smirked "That just tickled a bit" he stated "Impressive move but you still won't win this duel."

"We'll see about that" Torimaki stated "I end my"

"It's my move" Livius stated as he drew his next card "And I'll start by activating the field spell Gates of Dark World" the field changed from the forest into a dark wasteland with a dark gate in front of the duellists "And now I play the spell card Dark World Lightning, now I discard 1 card which allows me to destroy one set card on the field, so now your facedown card is destroyed" Livius discarded a card and then Torimaki's facedown shattered "And it's too bad you went to all that trouble to summon that all mighty Dragon, because the card I discarded was my Kahkki Guerrilla of Dark World, and now since he has been discarded by a card effect, I can destroy one monster on the field and I choose your Five Headed Dragon" Torimaki gasped as his best monster turned black and then shattered since his dragon wasn't immune to effects "That's the problem with those cards, everyone things that they are so powerful but they can still be destroyed by special effects."

Torimaki was furious that his best monster has been destroyed "But now that there is another Dragon in my graveyard, my Darkness Dragon gains another 300 attack points" (REDD Attack 3000-3300)

But even so, it's still my turn and I summon Bronn, Mad King of Dark World" a fiend monster with spiky hair and wrapped in chains appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 400) "And he gains 300 attack points thanks to my field spell" Bronn glowed as he gained more power (BMKODW Attack 1800-2100) "And now Bronn, attack that second Dark token" Bronn fired the chains from his chest which wrapped around the token and then squeezed tightly until the token shattered.

 **Livius: 6400  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 2700**

"And now that Bronn has dealt damage to you, I have to discard from card from my hand" Livius stated "And the monster I'm discarding is my Lucent Netherlord of Dark World, and when he is discarded by a card effect, I can special summon him." A giant skeleton in thick armour appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 0) "And remember, he gains 300 attack points thanks to my Gates to Dark World" Lucent glowed as he gained more power (LNLODW Attack 2400-2700) "And that may not be enough to defeat your Vampire Genesis, but I activate the quick play spell card Rush Recklessly which gives him an extra 700 attack points" the spirit of a raging bull appeared which was absorbed by Lucent (LNLODW Attack 2700-3400) "And now he has enough attack points to destroy your Vampire Genesis so now attack him now" Lucent slashed his claws which caused Vampire Genesis to groan before shattering.

 **Livius: 6400  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 2300**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing two cards facedown" Livius finished "Which means that Lucent's attack points return to normal but with the extra 300 thanks to my Field Spell" (LNLODW Attack 3400-2700)

Raizou narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card "I'll start by summoning my Vampire Hunter in attack mode" a warrior holding a whip with spikes on appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1600) "And then I will activate the spell card, Book of Life, this allows me to resurrect my Vampire Genesis, but my book cannot give life without taking it away, so now I will remove one of your Dark World Monsters from your graveyard" Livius' Kahkki was removed from play "And now I will activate the spell card Foolish Burial, this allows me to discard one card from my deck so now I will send my Vampire Scarlet Scourge to the grave. And now I can activate my Genesis' special ability, now by discard my Despair from the Dark, I can summon a Zombie monster from my graveyard so now my Scarlet Scourge returns" a vampire with white hair, a torn black cloak and a staff appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2200 Defence 2200) "And now Vampire Hunter, attack that Lucent"

Torimaki gasped in shock "Raizou are you mad!" he hissed "Lucent is stronger than your Hunter"

"That may be true" Raizou stated "But my Hunter has a special ability, when he attacks a Dark Attribute monster, that monster is automatically destroyed."

"Clever move" Livius stated as the whip wrapped around his Lucent and then squeezed hard and Lucent shattered

"And now my Scarlet Scourge will attack your Bronn" Raizou added as Scarlet Scourge sent a blast of magic from her staff which engulfed Bronn and destroyed him

 **Livius: 6300  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 2300**

"And now my Vampire Genesis will attack you directly" Raizou added and then Vampire Genesis opened his chest and a swarm of insects flew out which then bit Livius all over his body.

 **Livius: 3300  
Torimaki: 6700  
Raizou: 2300**

"Great work" Torimaki stated "Now we are ready to win this, and on my turn, we will be ready to win this duel"

Livius laughed which confused the two Obelisks "Sorry, but it's just great to see that the two of you think that you are about to win, but then your thoughts change so quickly"

"What" Raizou stated confused

"Just what are you talking about?" Torimaki demanded "You have no cards on your field; I still have my Darkness Dragon and Raizou still has three powerful monsters which will destroy you on your his next turn"

Livius laughed "But he won't have a next turn" he stated "Because now I activate my facedown card" his facedown card reveal itself which made Raizou and Torimaki gasp in shock "It's Ring of Destruction so now I can destroy one monster on the field and I choose your Vampire Genesis." The large ring wrapped around Vampire Genesis and the monster began to groan.

Torimaki sneered "Well that trap will still leave you low on life points and I can wipe you out on my turn"

"Well that would be if I didn't have this" Livius stated as he activated his other facedown "Ring of Defence so now I take no damage but I can't say the same for you two."

The ring then exploded and the second ring created a barrier which protected Livius. The explosion engulfed Torimaki and Raizou, Torimaki groaned in pain from the explosion but Raizou was blown backwards into a tree which knocked him out cold as he hit the floor.

 **Livius: 3300  
Torimaki: 3700  
Raizou: 0000 (Out)**

"Raizou!" Torimaki yelled

"And now I believe it is my turn" Livius stated as he drew his next card "And you will join your friend soon. I play the spell card Pot of Greed so now I get to draw two new cards" Livius drew two new cards and smirked "And I just drew Watapon and when he is added to my hand by a card effect, I can summon him to the field." A small pink fluffy monster appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 200 Defence 300) Livius looked at the other card that he drew and sneered as it was the card that the Elder One gave him 'if I draw the right card on my next turn then I can wipe him out.' He thought and then his attention went back to the duel "But my Watapon won't be on my field for long because now I sacrifice him in order to summon Silva Warlord of Dark World in attack mode" a silver skeleton monster wielding a large sword appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400) "And I still have my Gates of Dark World still on the field, he gains 300 attack points" (SWLODW Attack 2300-2600) "This may not be enough to destroy your dragon but that won't matter because on my next turn, this duel is over, I'll throw one card facedown and end my turn"

"We'll see about that!" Torimaki shouted "My draw" he drew his next card and smirked "Did you really think you had seen the last of my Five Headed Dragon? Well you haven't because he's coming back, I play the spell card Grave Fuse, now by sacrificing a level 7 or higher monster on my field and discarding two cards from my hand, I can summon any fusion monster from my graveyard ignoring it's fusion requirements, so now my Five Headed Dragon returns" The Darkness Dragon was engulfed in fire and then vanished as the massive Five Headed Dragon returned to the field. "And now my dragon will destroy your Silva" Five Headed Dragon let out a blast from each of it's heads which combined into one and went towards Silva"

"I activate my facedown card, Protection of Dark World" Livius stated "Now your Dragon loses 1000 attack points until the end of the turn" (FHD Attack 5000-4000)

"Well the attack still goes through" Torimaki stated and then Silva was engulfed by the blast and shattered.

 **Livius: 1900  
Torimaki: 3700**

Torimaki laughed "It seems you were wrong" he laughed "I still have a way to win this duel, you may have destroyed my dragon once already but you won't destroy it this time"

Livius laughed in replay "Foolish boy, I did say that this duel will be over on my turn"

"Well I don't see that happening" Torimaki laughed "I have more life points and one of the strongest monsters ever made"

Livius laughed "Well that dragon is nothing when compared to my ultimate dragon." He stated "I'm sure you've heard of it and you'll see just how powerful it is when I summon him, I remove Watapon from my graveyard along with one of my Dark World Monsters"

Livius was confused for a moment as he had no idea what Livius was doing, but then he realised something, Livius was removing a Light and Dark attribute monster from play "No!" he gasped "There is no way you have that card, that is one of the rarest cards ever made."

Livius sneered "So you do know what I'm talking about" he laughed "Well now you've about to see what makes this monster rare and powerful. I summon Chaos Emperor Dragon- Envoy of the End" Dark clouds appeared above the field and then lighting struck the field as a dark shape took form and then a massive blue scaled dragon with sparkling scales and orange hair appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) The dragon let out a powerful roar which shook the field.

Torimaki gasped at seeing such a powerful monster, he had heard of this dragon and its power and just how rare it was. This card had been outlaws in official tournaments but not in normal duels. Torimaki was aware of the power of this card and its ability, but he laughed "So I see you have such a powerful card" he stated "I'm impressed but I know its ability and there isn't enough cards in our hands to defeat me"

Livius laughed "There will be when I activate this spell" he stated "Card of Sanctity" so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Torimaki gasped as now he realised that there was nothing he could do, he knew of the Chaos Emperor Dragon's ability and with 6 cards in each hand and the monsters on the field, this duel was over."

"No, this can't be!" Torimaki gasped

"It's over!" Livius cackled "I activated Chaos Emperor Dragon's ability so now I pay 1000 life points and every card in our hands and field are destroyed and you take 300 points of damage for each one, so that's 14 cards in total which means 4200 points of damage" Chaos Emperor Dragon roared as a powerful storm built up which sucked up every card in Torimaki and Livius' hands along with the Five Headed Dragon, then Chaos Emperor Dragon shattered and sent a powerful blast towards Torimaki, when the blast struck him, there was a huge explosion that blew Torimaki backwards as he screamed. When the smoke cleared, there was a huge crater where Torimaki had stood and he had been blown backwards and had been knocked out cold.

 **Livius: 900 (Winner)  
Torimaki: 0000**

Livius smirked now that the first part of his mission was complete; he picked up Torimaki and Raizou in his arms and then placed them together and stood over them. Then he placed his hand with his duel disk over them "With the powers of the Elder One, I place the two of you under my command to serve me." His duel disk glowed red along with the fallen bodies of Torimaki and Raizou. When the glow dimmed, the two Obelisk boys pushed themselves to their feet and stared at Livius

"Master Livius" Torimaki in a toneless voice as his eyes showed no sigh f life "We serve you"

"All hail master Livius" Raizou stated "How may we serve you"

Livius laughed "The two of you will remain with me for now until the next step of our plan is complete" he stated "I still have more targets to get. But soon I will be ready for the next step in my plan, I just need to control a group of stupid girls first" he then let out a loud laugh which shook the trees of the forest.

...

Unknown to Livius, using Chaos Emperor Dragon had created a lot of dark power. One which a Obelisk blue girl felt which caused her to shoot awake and gasp as she looked around her room as she let out some deep breaths after feeling a dark disturbance on the Island."

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Chapter 2 is complete and now the Venatori are making their move, Livius is the first character that we saw in season one that didn't duel but now duels. Several other characters we saw in season one will duel as well. The next chapter will take some time as I am going to Summer School and I also need to find deck ideas for Jasmine and Mindy but I would try to use fairy decks for them. I don't know when I'll have the next chapter complete because there may be two duels in that chapter or I may split the chapter into two. But if anyone has deck ideas for Jasmine and Mindy then let me know though the decks won't be used a lot. Also, I know Five Headed Dragon can only be fusion summoned by this created Fusion card cancels effects like that.**

 **Created Card:**

Grave Fuse: Normal spell: Tribute one level 7 or higher monster on your field and discard 2 cards from your hand, special summon any fusion monster from the graveyard ignoring it's summoning requirements.


	3. Insect Jewels

**Insect Jewels:**

Solona looked around her room and let out a few deep breaths. She had been sleeping calmly and had been dreaming about her journey home where she along with Daylen would spend their summer holidays with their parents. But then she had felt a dark disturbance which had caused her to wake up in an instant and shoot up in bed. She saw a faint glow coming from her draw and she got out of bed and opened her draw and saw the glow was coming from her spare cards. Solona sorted through them until she found the card that was glowing, it was her Old God Card, Urthemiel, Old God of Beauty.

Solona had taken this card out of her deck, the card was powerful but also dangerous which was why she only put it in her deck when she would be in a duel when she needed it like in a Shadow Game against the Venatori. Golden light came from the card and then the spirit of Urthemiel appeared in front of Solona.

" **Mistress Solona"** Urthemiel stated **"Did you feel that disturbance as well?"**

"I did" Solona answered "It felt like there were dark forces on the island"

" **I felt like it was some kind of dark magic coming from a card?"** Urthemiel stated **"It's similar to the presence of the Venatori"**

"You mean the Venatori are here on the island!" Solona gasped, she hadn't encountered them since she had returned from the Gravekeepers after rescuing her father "Did you feel another Old God Card? Was that what I was sensing?"

Urthemiel shook her head **"No" she answered "It felt more like something to do with chaos. But it wasn't like Zazikel Old God of Chaos so it's not an Old God card but the card definitely has something to do with chaos."**

"Chaos?" Solona questioned and then she widened her eyes "Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End, that card is very rare and it's said that its spirit is dark."

" **It must have been"** Urthemiel stated **"But this must mean that the Venatori are here on the island"**

Solona sighed "I'll have to tell my father about this"

" **Good idea"** Urthemiel stated **"I have a feeling that we may not be getting the peaceful summer that we all wanted"**

Solona sighed at that, she had been looking forward to having a peaceful summer after the incident with the Sacred Beasts.

...

The next day, Solona found her father speaking with Professor Dorian about something, her father had greeted her and then Solona had explained about what she had felt during the night.

"So you felt it too then" Professor Dorian stated after she had finished explaining "Since your father and I are members of the Seekers, we've been trained to sense these dark forces and we felt it during the night."

"I've also had a chat with Chancellor Sheppard" Aristide stated "Dr Crowler has told us that two of his students have gone missing, they did not return last night which has made the staff worried since the students are returning home in a few days. Campus security has gone out to look for them but there has been no sign yet"

"So what do we do?" Solona asked

"You will do nothing Solona" Aristide ordered "If these dark forces are really the Venatori then we can't risk them getting their hands on your Urthemiel or Daylen and Razikale. The two of you are to remain indoors until we go home."

"In the meantime, I'll contact Cassandra and Lucius about this" Dorian stated "Cassandra may be able to send help to investigate but she needs Lucius' permission since he's the leader of the Seekers"

"Do you understand Solona?" Aristide asked "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yes father I do" Solona answered "I'll stay in the dorm until we go home"

"Good" Aristide replied "Now Dorian and I will go and contact Cassandra about this"

...

Dorian and Aristide went to Dorian's office where they contacted Cassandra over their computer. The face of Cassandra appeared on a large screen on the wall "Agent Dorian" she greeted and smiled when she saw Aristide "And agent Aristide, it's good to see that you've returned."

"It's good to see you too Cassandra" Aristide greeted "But this isn't a reunion, something is going on"

"What is happening?" Cassandra asked

"My daughter felt some kind of Dark disturbance during the night" Aristide stated "We get the feeling that these Venatori are back and they have plans"

"When we interrogated Alexius, he told us that this Elder One is seen as a God by some so this is definitely some kind of shadow cult." Cassandra stated "And they seem to be very interested in these Old God Cards"

"From my research, there seems to be seven Old God Cards." Dorian stated "Solona has one and Daylen as one. But we were told that the Venatori have four of the others while the last one is still missing"

"So for now, I think the best option is to search for the last Old God card before the Venatori find it" Cassandra stated "But on Lucius can allow that and something is going on here"

Dorian and Aristide looked at each other about the leader of the Seekers "What's going on with Lucius?" Dorian asked

Cassandra sighed "Lucius is acting strange recently" she admitted "I don't know what but something is going on."

"Well I guess it means it's up to us two then" Dorian stated

"I'm afraid so" Cassandra sighed "I'll contact you when I figure out what is going on" and then she ended the communication.

Dorian and Aristide looked at each other "So the two of us should patrol the island at night to see what is happening" Dorian suggested

"That's what we'll do" Aristide agreed

...

Meanwhile, walking through the forest alone was an Obelisk Blue girl. This girl had long purple hair that she wore in two long spikes which went down to her waist. Her uniform was different from other Obelisk Blue girls, her shirt was sleeveless and it showed of her waist and revealed a black t-shirt underneath. She also wore skinny black tights and a set of high heel shoes, this girl was Missy, one of the best Obelisk Blue Girl duellists on the island though she wasn't as good as Alexis. She was also one of those Obelisks who were rude to those who were in the lower dorms but she was also rude to those in Obelisk blue such as Alexis and Solona. This was because she thought she was the best duellist and she had a big crush on Zane Truesdale which made her jealous of Solona and Alexis.

Missy was annoyed that Zane wouldn't even talk to her "Why Zane" she said to herself "Why won't you speak to me, I'm the insect queen of Duel Academy and you're the Kaiser, we should be together, it's not fair"

"Well maybe you will get to see him if you enter the pro league" a voice called and Missy turned to see a strange man standing nearby.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded "I haven't got time for this"

"My name is Livius Erimond and you can say that I'm a sponsor of Pro League Duellists, my associate spoke of you and I want to see how good you are."

"You mean you might sponsor me?" Missy gasped "And then I'll get to be with my sweet Zane"

"Maybe" Livius answered "If I feel like you would be worth it. I want to see you duel but not me, I'm not ready for a duel today after travelling."

"So who will I be duelling?" Missy asked

Livius looked to the forest and then Servis walked out, since Servis had told Livius about Missy's attitude, they decided that Lucius would get Missy to duel while Servis would duel her. Torimaki and Raizou had been hidden away in the forest but they weren't going anywhere since their minds were blank thanks to Livius.

"Wait, I know you, you're Servis" Missy stated "I've seen you around before but never seen you duel"

"That makes it harder for you" Servis stated "Because you've never seen my deck but I know you duel with insects and I have a few ideas on what to do"

"We'll see about that" Missy hissed "So if I win then you'll sponsor me for the Pro Leagues"

"I will" Livius sneered "But you're on your own for going after this Zane"

"I'm sure that when Zane sees me duel in the Pro Leagues, he'll come to me" Missy hissed and then she activated her Duel Disk and drew 5 cards while Servis activated his own and drew his 5 cards.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Servis: 8000  
Missy: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Missy stated as she drew her 6th card "And I summon my Flying Kamakiri #1 in attack mode" a green insect with red eyes and 4 wings on his back appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 900) "Then I'll play the equip spell card Insect armour with Laser Cannon which gives my Kamakiri an extra 700 attack points" a large suit of armour was attached to the Kamakiri with a large laser cannon on the back which covered the wings (FK#1 Attack 1400-2100) "And then I will end my turn"

"Summoning a strong monster like that is good" Servis stated as he drew his card "But there's a reason why I'm an Obelisk, I play the spell card Gem Knight Fusion so now I can fuse Gem Knight Tourmaline and Gem Knight Garnet in my hand in order to summon Gem Knight Topaz" a orange knight wielding a set of axes appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1800 Defence 1800)

Missy snorted "Maybe Academy needs to rethink where you should be" she stated "Take a look at the attack points, your monster is weaker than mine"

"Well he won't be after I play this" Servis stated "You're not the only one who can use equip spells, with Gem Soul my Topaz gains 300 attack points" Topaz glowed as he gained more power (GKT Attack 1800-2100) "And now Topaz will attack your insect" Topaz threw his axes while Flying Kamakiri fire a blast from the cannon and there was an explosion on both field.

Missy laughed "You fool, now both our monsters have been destroyed" but then the smoke cleared and Topaz was still on the field "How, the attack points were the same so both our monsters should have been destroyed"

Servis laughed "Since Topaz was equipped with Gem Soul, by destroying it, Topaz is safe from destruction" the glow faded as Topaz's attack points returned to normal (GKT Attack 2100-1800) "And when Topaz destroys a monster in battle, it deals you damage equal to the attack points of that monster." Missy widened her eyes as Topaz threw his axe at her.

 **Missy: 5900  
Servis: 8000**

Missy then smirked "Well my Kamakiri has a special ability as well" she stated "Now I can summon 1 wind attribute monster with 1500 attack points or less. And I choose my Flying Kamakiri #2" a brown insect monster similar to flying Kamakiri #1 appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 800)

Servis smirked "You're going to need him because my Topaz has another special ability" he stated "My Topaz can attack twice per turn so now Topaz can attack again." Topaz threw his axes again which struck the insect and destroyed him. "And you take damage equal to that monster's attack points." The axe struck Missy again

 **Missy: 4100  
Servis: 8000**

"I'm not that impressed" Servis stated "I just took out nearly half your life points and I'm still at full strength"

"That's because you were lucky!" Missy snapped "But I still have more monsters to use, my draw" Missy drew her next card "And I'll throw monster facedown as well as a facedown card and that will do it for my turn"

"That's it?" Servis laughed "Well I guess there's not much you can do about my Topaz, I summon Gem Knight Sapphire in defence mode" the blue Gem Knight with the magical barrier appeared on the field kneeling down with the barrier protecting him (Level 4 Attack 0 Defence 2100) "And now my Topaz will attack that facedown monster" Gem Knight swung his axe which struck the facedown monster which revealed a revolting green caterpillar "What is that?"

Missy laughed "Meet my Parasite Caterpillar" she stated "Now that you've attacked it, it gets equipped to you monster" the caterpillar attached itself to Topaz after biting him "Now your monster can't attack or be used for a tribute and it three turns you've see what happens to your Topaz."

Servis narrowed his eyes and sighed "I end my turn"

Missy laughed "There is something else that my Caterpillar does, when the monster it's equipped to is the only monster on the field, but since you have your sapphire, I'll just summon Leghul in attack mode" a large purple and yellow caterpillar appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 300 Defence 350) "He may not be strong but he has a special ability, he can attack you directly and he may not be strong but I play the equip spell Malevolent Nuzzler which gives Leghul an extra 700 attack points" Leghul gained more strength (L Attack: 300-1000) "And now Leghul will attack you directly" Leghul shot towards Servis and bit him on the waist

 **Missy: 4100  
Servis: 7000**

"And now I will place one card facedown and end my turn" Missy finished

"My move" Servis stated as he drew his next card but sighed as there were no cards that he could use "I summon Gem Knight Lazuli in defence mode" a small brown girl knight appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 1 Attack 600 Defence 100) "And that will do it for my turn"

Missy smirked "That's it?" he questioned "Well let's see how well you handle this, I'll start with Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Missy drew two cards from her deck "Then I'll summon Killer Needle in attack mode" a large wasp with a big sting appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1000) "And now my Killer Needle will attack your Lazuli" Killer Needle shot through Lazuli with his sting and the monster shattered "And now Leghul will attack you directly again" Leghul swooped towards Servis and bit him again

 **Missy: 4100  
Servis: 6000**

"That will do it for my turn" Missy finished

Servis drew his card and smirked "My next card should look familiar to you" he stated as he showed it to her "It's my own Pot of Greed so now I'm allowed to draw 2 cards of my own" Servis drew 2 cards from his deck and one of them made him smirk "I play the spell card Polymerization which allows me to fuse Gem Knight Sapphire along with Obsidian in my hand in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Aquamarine" Sapphire along with a black armoured knight were sucked into a portal and then a light blue armoured knight with a large shield appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1400 Defence 2600) "And since Obsidian was sent to the graveyard, his ability activates which allows me to summon a level 4 or below gem knight from my graveyard and I choose to bring back one of the monsters I used in my fusion summon at the start of the duel, Gem Knight Garnet" a small red knight with flaming fists appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 0) "And now Garnet will attack your Leghul while Aquamarine will attack your Killer Needle" Garnet threw a ball of fire which struck Leghul while Aquamarine bashed Killer Needle with his shield and both monsters shattered.

 **Missy: 3000  
Servis: 6000**

"And with that, I end my turn and this duel is not going well for you" Servis smirked "I'll like to see you make a comeback from this"

"Oh I will" Missy hissed as she drew her next card which made her laugh "It's time for you to meet one of my favourite monsters, but first I'll summon Pinch Hopper in attack mode" A large green grasshopper appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 1200) "And then I'll play the spell card Multiplication of Ants, so now I'll sacrifice Pinch Hopper to summon two army Ant Tokens" two small green ants replaced Pinch Hopper (Level 4 Attack 500 Defence 1200)

"And I guess you're going to use Pinch Hopper's Special ability to summon another insect from your hand" Servis questioned

"I sure am" Missy smirked "I'm summon one of my favourite cards, she strong and sweet, say hello to Insect Princess" A fairly like insect with butterfly wings and bee eyes appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1900 Defence 1200) "And my Princess gains 500 attack points each time she destroys an insect so if you think she's strong now, just wait and see how strong she becomes."

"There's one problem with your plan" Servis stated "I duel with Gem Knights and there are no insects in my deck"

Missy sneered "That will change with this spell card" she stated "The field spell Insect Garden" the field changed into a giant garden with giant plants everywhere "Now you get to control all my level 4 or below insect monsters, so now you can have my two Army Ant Tokens" the two tokens walked onto Servis' field "And now I Insect Princess will attack one of those tokens" Insect Princess launched a gust of wind from her wings which threw the token back which then exploded

 **Missy: 3000  
Servis: 4600**

"But before I end my turn, it's time for you to know what happens to your Topaz now." Missy stated "You've had three turns since he was infected and now he will be transformed into a creature known as Poison Butterfly" Topaz had been forced into a Cocoon when Parasite Caterpillar had infected him "He may be a strong monster with 2700 attack points but he deals you 500 points of damage each turn, and then he will be useless to you when I activate my facedown card, Insect Barrier which prevents you from attacking with insect monsters making Poison Butterfly useless to you. I end my turn and Princess gains 500 attack points since she destroyed an insect" Princess glowed as she gained more power (IP Attack 1900-2400)

"My move" Servis stated

"And time for Poison Butterfly to appear" Missy stated as the Cocoon glowed and then a large Butterfly with purple wings appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 1800)

'I don't have a strong enough monster to attack with' Servis thought to himself 'Poison Butterfly is strong enough to take out that Princess but it can't attack thanks to that barrier, so I guess I'll have to go on the defensive for now' "I switch all my monsters to defence mode including your token" Garnet and the token changed positions "And now I will end your turn"

"Which means you now take damage thanks to Butterfly's effect" Missy smirked and then Poison Butterfly spat acid at Servis which made him groan in pain.

 **Missy: 3000  
Servis: 4100**

"And now it's my turn again and my Insect Princess will attack your second token" Missy ordered and Insect Princess fired more magic which struck the second token which shattered "And Princess gains another 500 attack points since he destroyed another insect type monster" (IP Attack 2400-2900) "And now I'll end my turn"

"My move" Servis stated as he drew his card which made him smirk "I place one card facedown and end my turn" Then Poison Butterfly spat more poison at Servis dealing him more damage.

 **Missy: 3000  
Servis: 3600**

"My move" Missy sneered as she drew her next card "You know I could just destroy that Butterfly to power up my queen more, but I would rather it deal you more damage so my Princess will attack that pathetic Garnet instead" Insect Princess sent a blast of magic a Garnet.

But Servis smirked "I was hoping that you were going to attack" he stated "I activate my facedown card Shift, so now I get to choose the attack target and I choose my Aquamarine instead" the magic blast shifted towards Aquamarine and the monster was destroyed

Missy was confused "Why would you destroy your best monster on the field?" she demanded

Servis smirked "To use my Aquamarine's special ability, when he is destroyed I can send one card on your field back to your hand, and the monster I pick is your Insect Princess"

"What!" Missy gasped as her eyes widened in horror as Insect Princess glowed and turned into golden particles before vanishing from the field and the card appeared in Missy's hand.

"And now your best monster is gone" Servis smirked

Missy narrowed her eyes "Well I have more cards I can use such as my Graceful Charity which allows me to draw three cards as long as I discard two" Missy drew 3 cards and discarded two of them, one of which was Insect Princess "And then I'll play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon which destroys my Insect Garden and allowing me to use my level 4 or below insects again. And a Princess is nothing without her knight in shining armour, so I summon Insect Knight in attack mode" a beetle monster wearing armour and wielding a shield and sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1950 Defence 1500) "Though I can't attack now since is my Main Phase 2 so now it's your turn"

Servis drew his card which made him smirk "If you think Poison Butterfly will be useless to me now then you're wrong" he stated "It's good for one thing and that's sacrificing it along with Garnet in order to summon Gem Knight Crystal in attack mode" a knight wearing armour with crystal shards attached appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2450 Defence 1950) "And now Crystal will attack your Insect Knight" Crystal summoned a storm of gem shards and sent them flying towards Insect Knight, the insect was impaled by the shards and then shattered

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 3600**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis finished

Missy glared at Servis "Did you really think that my Insect Princess was my best card?" she questioned "Well she is not, a Princess is strong but she's nothing compared to a queen, so I play my facedown card Call of the Haunted which allows me to summon back Pinch Hopper from the grave" the grasshopper returned to the field "And then I'll play Card of Sanctity so now we both get to draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Missy and Servis drew until they had 6 cards in their hands "and then I'll play my second copy of Multiplication of Ants to bring out two Army Ant Token" Pinch Hopper vanished and was replaced with two Ant Tokens "And like before my Pinch Hopper allows me to summon any insect monster from my hand, so I summon Insect Queen in attack mode" a large 6 legged insect that seemed to have a the queen of a hive of insects appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2200 Defence 2400) "And she gains 200 attack points for every insect on my field" Missy added as Insect Queen glowed and gained power (IQ Attack 2200-2800) "And now I summon my Insect Soldiers of the Sky in attack mode" a brown beetle with green legs appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 800) "Which means that by sacrificing one of my tokens, my queen can attack" Insect Queen bit one of the Army Ant Tokens and then her mouth was filled with venom "And now my Queen will destroy your Crystal" Insect Queen unleashed a blastoff venom from her mouth which struck crystal and then there was a cloud of smoke and Crystal's armour dropped from the smoke and shattered

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 3450**

"And now my Insect Soldiers of the Sky attacks you directly" Missy added as the soldier swooped down and struck Servis

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 2450**

"And then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Missy finished "And when my Queen destroys a monster. She lays an egg" an insect hatching from an egg appeared on the field as it was laid by the queen (Level 1 Attack 100 Defence 100) (IQ Attack 2800-3000)

"My move" Servis stated as he drew his next card "And I will activate the effect of my Gem Knight Fusion when it's in the graveyard, now by removing my Gem Knight Garnet from play, I can add Gem Knight Fusion to my hand" Gem Knight Fusion returned to Servis' hand "But my Garnet will be back as I play the spell card Double Summon which allows me to normal summon twice this turn. So first I summon Gem knight Emerald in attack mode" a green armoured warrior with a shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800) "And then I summon Gem Knight Amber in attack mode" an orange armoured warrior with a flaming sword in one hand and a ball of fire in the other appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1400) "And now I activate Amber's ability, by discarding my Gem Knight Lapis, I can add Garnet back to my hand" Garnet returned to Servis' hand "But now I play Gem Knight Fusion which allows me to fuse Garnet in my hand with Amber on my field to summon Gem Knight Ruby in attack mode" Garnet and Amber were sucked into a portal and created a red armoured warrior with a blue cape and wielding a large red battle axe (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1300) "And with my two monsters on the field, I have enough power to end this duel, your egg only has 100 attack points and your army ant token only has 500, with both attacks I will end this duel, now attack" Ruby swung his axe at the egg while Emerald sent a gust of wind at the army ant token

Missy sneered "It's a good job that I have this facedown card" she stated "I activate Negate Attack which ends your attacks" A barrier appeared and blocked both of Servis' attacks

Servis narrowed his eyes and groaned "I end my turn" he finished

Missy smirked and drew her next card and smirked "I hope you're ready to see your plan fall apart?" she questioned "I play the ritual spell card Javelin Beetle Pact, now by sacrificing my Army Ant Token on my field along with my Armoured Bee in my hand, I can summon the level 8 Ritual Monster Javelin Beetle" A large blue beetle with a trident appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2450 Defence 2550) "And now I will sacrifice my insect egg in order to allow my Queen to attack that Ruby" the egg was eaten by the queen which allowed her to attack (IQ Attack 2800) Insect Queen then spat acid at Gem Knight Ruby which resulted in Ruby's body melting in his armour.

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 2150**

"Next my Javelin Beetle will attack that Emerald" Missy added as Javelin Beetle zapped forward and impaled Emerald with the trident and the monster shattered.

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 1500**

"And finally my Insect Soldiers of the Sky attacks you directly" Missy stated and then the Insect Soldiers swooped through Servis dealing him more damage.

 **Missy: 2500  
Servis: 500**

"And now I will end my turn" Missy finished "And on my next turn I will finish you off and show that I belong in the pro league, and my queen lays another egg" another egg appeared from Insect Queen

Livius watched the duel 'This girl sure is strong' he thought to himself 'she will be a useful tool though her arrogance could be a problem but also a weapon'

Servis narrowed his eyes "I still have life points so this duel isn't over yet" he stated as he drew his next card and smirked "I play Fusion Recovery so now I can recover my Polymerization along with Gem Knight Obsidian from my grave" Polymerization along with Obsidian returned to Servis' hand "And then I play the spell card the Dark Factory of Mass Production which allows me to add two normal monsters to my hand so now Gem Knights Sapphire and Garnet return to my hand" Sapphire and Garnet returned to Servis' hand "And then I play Polymerization in order to fuse Obsidian, Garnet and Sapphire together in order to summon my Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond in attack mode" a large lady gem knight wielding a sword and wearing armour with gems attached appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3400 Defence 2000) "And since Obsidian was sent to the grave, I can summon a Gem Knight from my grave and I choose to bring back Emerald" Emerald returned to the field "And you still have two low level monsters which when I take them out will finish your life points and this time you don't have a trap card to save them." Missy widened her eyes in horror as she realised that the duel was over. "And now Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond, attack that Insect Soldiers of the Sky, I know I could end this by attacking your token but I want to really make this horrible for you" Lady Brilliant Diamond slashed Insect Soldiers into two with her sword.

 **Missy: 100  
Servis: 500**

"And now Emerald, end this duel" Servis ordered as Emerald sent a just of wind that blew the egg back and also blew Missy back as she hit the ground.

 **Missy: 0000  
Servis: 500 (Winner)**

Missy was knocked out cold when she hit the floor and Livius smirked at Servis' victory "Well done Servis" he stated "Thought that was a difficult duel, I can see why you said she's one of the top duellists here"

"She's nothing compared to Solona" Servis stated "But we still need a way to lure her out of the Girl's Dorm at night, Missy's a tough duellist but Solona hates her which is why we need someone she trusts."

"I take it this is where this Jasmine and Mindy come in?" Livius questioned

"They do" Servis stated "They're good friends with one of Solona's best friends, Alexis, and Solona trusts them. Unlike Missy here, they're not great duellists and they like pretty cards and handsome men."

Livius snorted "What a waste of duelling" he snorted "But we still need them to lure Solona out of the Dorm"

"And we really need them" Servis stated "The disappearance of Torimaki and Raizou hasn't gone unnoticed and now Solona has been ordered to remain inside at all times."

"Well once we take her we will just have to perform the Ritual to take her back to the Elder One" Livius stated "You will lead our new brainwashed members to prevent them from interrupting the Ritual"

"I will master Livius" Servis stated

"Good" Livius stated and then he stood over the fallen body of Missy and held his duel disk over her, then the disk glowed along with Missy's body. Then Missy stood up and looked at Livius though both Livius and Servis could see that her eyes were blank and missing any colour. Then Livius and Servis began to laugh into the night.

"Three subjects down and two more to go" Livius stated and looked at Missy "And let's give our new friend someone to duel"

"We'll wait until night falls" Servis stated "It is still morning and no one has noticed Missy will be missing, if they do then curfew will be issued and no one will be allowed to leave the dorms"

"I agree" Livius stated "by the end of the day, we will have two more servants to do our bidding"

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Well after being away on Summer School, I'm back and finished another chapter. The next chapter will have two duels though the duels may be short duels. I've decided to have 2 separate duels instead of a tag duel as none of the decks work together. As for Jasmine and Mindy, one will duel with a warrior deck full of handsome warriors while the other will have pretty fairies in. I don't know when I'll update as I'm also working on the next chapter of Rise of the Divines as well.**


	4. Warrior Wings

**Warrior Wings:**

At the Obelisk Blue Girls dorm, 2 obelisk blue girls sat at a table in the canteen. One had dark auburn red hair in braids which went down to her neck while the other had long black hair which went down her back. They were Jasmine and Mindy, 2 of Alexis' best friends. But while they were in Obelisk Blue, they weren't great duellists and seemed to be more interested in finding a boyfriend and other girly things. This made the two girls weak in the eyes of other Obelisks but the two of them didn't care.

Now the two were talking about what they planned to do over the summer and their plans for next year "So Jazz what do you plan to do over the summer?" Mindy asked

"Oh, I plan to hang out with boys" she stated "And get stuff ready for next year, maybe I'll get a boyfriend next year"

"Oh, so am I "Mindy giggled "I can't wait to see who comes next year"

"Yeah" Jasmine agreed "It's a shame that Zane's leaving this year, he's the best duellist here plus one of the most handsome."

"Yeah but there are other handsome boys here as well" Mindy giggled "Like Atticus for instance"

Alexis' brother?" Jasmine questioned "He is handsome but I hear that he irritates Alexis by trying to get her together with boys"

"Yeah but he's still handsome" Mindy smiled "Bastion Misawa's a good looker as well. So is Chazz Princeton. And I think little Syrus is cute"

"Zane's brother, I thought you didn't like him much" Jasmine questioned

"Well he is kind of cute" Mindy stated "Theorn Mahariel's good looking as well though he's off the list. Don't tell anyone but I think he's got a crush on Solona. But Aedan Cousland and Daylen Amell are handsome as well"

"Don't let Solona hear you say that" Jasmine gasped "I don't think she's like anyone saying she likes her brother"

"But they're all so handsome and really good duellists" Mindy smiled like she was daydreaming

Which is more than what I can say of you two" a voice snorted and the two of them turned to see the purple haired girl Missy "The two of you are such disgraces to duellists here"

The two girls glared at her "We are not disgraces!" Jasmine snapped

"Really?" Missy snorted "I haven't seen the two of you duel at all. You talk more about boys and how handsome they are. This school is for duelling, not for learning how to look pretty"

"We've never had the chance to duel" Mindy stated

"Well now you will have the chance" Missy sneered "Meet me at the Lake in an hour; we'll see if you two really are duellists or just idiots who think they are"

Then Missy left which left Jasmine and Mindy alone who were already having doubts "How are we suppose to duel her?" Mindy questioned "She's one of the best duellists here and she's the best duellist here at the Blue Girls Dorm after Alexis and Solona"

"Well we'll just have to try" Jasmine stated "Remember she can get arrogant sometimes which makes it more likely that she will make a mistake which gives us a chance to finish her monsters. We also have an advantage because she's never seen us duel before while we know her tactics especially with Pinch Hopper and her insect queen."

"I guess you're right" Mindy stated "You'll be there for me"

"I will" Jasmine stated "But Alexis won't be as she's busy at the moment so we'll have to duel alone for now"

"I better go get my deck ready" Mindy said as she stood up and went to her room to find her deck.

...

Later, Jasmine and Mindy had gathered their decks and Duel Disks and had gone out towards the lake. The area where Missy wanted to meet them was at the far side of the lake from the girl's dorm where a river flowed from the lake and towards the ocean. When they arrived there, they found Missy already waiting for them but were confused to see another Obelisk Blue boy waiting for them

"So I see you two have arrived" Missy snorted "I honestly thought the two of you would have given up"

"Well we won't" Jasmine hissed "We're not cowards, by the way, who's your friend"

Missy smirked "This is Crassius Servis" she stated "A duellist who is one of the best I've seen, I've learnt a lot from him and he has agreed to help me duel the two of you"

"I thought we were both facing you?" Mindy questioned

"That would take too long and we can't do a Tag duel because our decks are different" Missy stated

"So Missy here will face one of you first and then I will face the other" Servis stated

"So who would like to go first?" Missy questioned

Jasmine and Mindy looked at each other, they did not know how this other guy duelled and they knew that Missy was a tough duellist. Eventually, Jasmine stepped forward "I'll duel you first" she stated

"Fine by me" Missy sneered as she stepped forward; the two girls activated their duel disks and drew their first five cards.

" **Duel!"**

 **Missy: 8000  
Jasmine: 8000**

"Champion duellists first" Missy sneered as she drew her sixth card and smirked "And I play the spell card Double summon which allows me to summon twice this turn, so first I'll summon Armoured Bee in attack mode" a large bee with armour plating and metal wings appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1200) "And then Prickle Fairy in defence mode" a large plant woman with long vines appeared on the field kneeling down and her thorny vines protected her monsters "And as long as my fairy is on the field, all my insects are safe from your attacks. I end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

"My move" Jasmine stated "And I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode" a blond hair warrior with two swords and armour appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 400) "He is so handsome"

Missy snorted "That thing is pathetic just like you are!" she hissed "Remember you cannot attack my bee and even if he could, he's not powerful enough and you're just talking about how handsome he looks, he's a hologram, he's not real"

"Well his effect is real" Jasmine stated "Now I can summon a second a level 4 or below warrior from my hand and I choose my Command Knight in attack mode" a warrior woman with ginger hair and leather coat appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1900) "And when she's on the field, all warriors gain 400 attack points" Command Knight and Marauding Captain's blades glowed as they gained power (MC, CK Attack 1200-1600)

"Big deal!" Missy sneered "They don't have the power to take out my monsters."

"Well they will after I play these equip spells" Jasmine stated "I equip Command Knight with Lightning Blade to give her 800 more attack points" Command Knight's blade was replaced with a blade with lightning surrounding the blade (CK Attack 1600-2400) "And then I'll equip my Marauding captain with a jewel Sword which gives him 300 extra attack points" one of Marauding Captain's blades was replaced with a blade with a jewelled hilt (MC Attack 1600-1900) "And now my Command Knight will attack your Prickle Fairy" Command Knight slashed her blade and slashed Prickle Fairy in two and the monster shattered "And now Marauding Captain will attack your Armoured Bee" Marauding Captain slashed his swords and cut Armoured Bee into pieces and the monster shattered

 **Missy: 7700  
Jasmine: 8000**

"And now I'm winning" Jasmine smiled "I end my turn"

Missy narrowed her eyes "300 life points means nothing!" she snapped "You are not going to win this duel and this turn will show you why, I summon Pinch Hopper in attack mode" a large green grasshopper appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 1200) "And then I will play the spell card Eradicating Aerosol which destroys all insect monsters on the field" A large insect repellent can appeared on the field and sprayed all over Pinch Hopper causing the Grasshopper to screech before exploding

"Wait, why would you destroy your own monster?" Jasmine questioned

Missy sneered "You should know why, you're an Obelisk. It was so I could activate my Pinch Hopper's special ability, now I can summon any Insect Monster from my hand and I choose to summon my favourite monster, my sweet Insect Princess." The large yellow insect with butterfly wings appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1900 Defence 1200) "And if you think she's strong now just wait, every time she destroys an insect she gains 500 attack points"

"That effect is useless" Jasmine smirked "My deck doesn't contain any insects, it contains handsome warriors"

Missy sneered "That will change with this, I play my facedown card" Missy facedown appeared and Jasmine and Mindy gasped at it "DNA Surgery, now you won't have any of your handsome warriors on your field, it will be filled with insects since all your warriors will change into insects" Command Knight and Marauding captain groaned as their bodies changed as they grew insect legs from their body, their hands changed into pinchers and their body grew insect scales all over.

"Ewwww!" Mindy hissed "That is so gross"

Missy laughed "And it's worse for you, now your monsters lose their attack bonus since your Command Knights effect only works on warriors and your equip spells only work on warriors" Jasmine watched as the swords shattered and her monsters lost all their attack power (MC Attack 1900-1200) (CK Attack 2400-1200)

"Well since Jewel Sword was destroyed, I get to draw one card" Jasmine stated as she drew one card from her deck

"You're going to need it" Missy mocked "Because I have one last card to play, the equip spell Insect Pheromone and when this is equipped to my Princess, when she destroys a monster, she forces another Insect on your field to battle it. And now Insect Princess attack that captain" Insect Princess fired a blast of magic and destroyed the captain.

 **Missy: 7700  
Jasmine: 7300**

"And now thanks to my Pheromone, your Command Knight now has to battle my Princess" Missy stated "And she gains 500 attack points since she destroyed an Insect" (IP Attack: 1900-2400) "And now your Command Knight attacks my Princess" the now insect Command Knight tried to slash Insect Princess with her talons only to be blasted by the Princess.

 **Missy: 7700  
Jasmine: 6100**

"Now you can see what you are" Missy mocked "You are just a loser, there is no way you can get out of this! My Princess now gains another 500 attack points" (IP Attack 2400-2900)

'Maybe she's right' Jasmine thought to herself 'No matter what I summon that DNA Surgery will change it into an insect and power up her Insect Princess.'

Jasmine looked like she was ready to give up but then she remembered that Solona and Alexis would never give up. They would carry on until the end and they had heard about when they were pushed to their limits but they would never give up. And Alexis was her friend and she would make her proud so she narrowed her eyes and drew her next card

"A poor choice" Missy mocked "You should have just given up"

"Alexis would never give up and neither will I" Jasmine stated 'though this isn't going to be easy' she looked at her hand and saw her Warrior Lady of the Wasteland 'not that, even though it allows me to summon another monster, I'll take even more damage thanks to that Princess so I guess I'll have to play something else' but then she saw another monster and knew that she now had an idea "I'll throw a monster facedown and then I'll end my turn"

"That's it?" Missy mocked "Well I guess there isn't much you can do, I summon Flying Kamakiri #1 in attack mode" a large green insect with a red belly appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 900) "And now my Princess will attack that facedown monster" Princess unleashed a veil of magic which flipped right side up to reveal Armed Ninja which then shattered.

Jasmine smirked "Looks like you've fallen into my trap" she stated "When Armed Ninja is flipped, I can destroy one spell card and I choose your Insect Pheromone." Missy Insect Pheromone shattered

"Well I still have my Kamakiri to attack you" Missy smirked as Flying Kamakiri slashed through Jasmine causing her to groan in pain.

 **Missy: 7700  
Jasmine: 4700**

"And thanks to DNA Surgery, your Ninja became an Insect and so Princess gains another 500 attack points" (IP Attack 2900-3400) "And now I throw one card facedown and end my turn"

"My move" Jasmine stated as she drew her next card 'Dusk Tornado' she thought 'Now I can destroy that trap and my warriors will be back' "I throw one monster facedown and a facedown card and then that will do it for me"

Missy laughed "You think I really that stupid?" she sneered "That facedown is a trap you have waiting well it won't work, I play my facedown, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it" the typhoon blew away the Dusk Tornado trap card "Dusk Tornado, so you tried to destroy my DNA Surgery, well too bad it didn't work, my draw" Missy drew her next card "And now Princess, attack that facedown monster" Princess shot a blast which destroyed the monster revealing it to be Warrior Lady of the Wasteland. "And since it was an insect, Princess gains another 500 attack points" (IP Attack 3400-3900)

"3900 Attack points!" Mindy gasped "There's no way Jasmine can beat that"

"Well my lady has a special ability" Jasmine stated "Now I can summon an Earth Warrior monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less. And I choose my Celtic Guardian" a warrior with pointy ears and green armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1200)

"Well now my Kamakiri will attack it" Flying Kamakiri shot through the Guardian but Guardian slashed it and both monsters were destroyed "And now my Kamakiri effect activates allow me to summon Insect Soldiers of the Sky" a brown beetle with green legs appeared on the field ready to attack (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 800) "And now attack her directly" the beetle flew through Jasmine.

 **Missy: 7700  
Jasmine: 3700**

"And now I will end my turn" Missy smirked "Maybe you really should just give up, you have nothing that can defeat me, I have twice as much life points as you and a very strong monster and I doubt you have anything that can defeat it."

Jasmine shook her head "Like Alexis said, I should never doubt myself" she stated "And now it's my turn" she drew her card and smiled "Looks like you will no longer be powering up that Princess, I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode" a red armoured spellcaster appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000) "And when he's summoned, he gets a spell counter which I will now sacrifice to destroy one spell or trap card on the field and I choose your DNA Surgery so now my warriors are back" the trap shattered and now Missy no longer could transform Jasmine's monsters into insects "And now Breaker, destroy that Insect Soldiers" Breaker swung his staff like a sword and slashed the Soldiers which shattered

 **Missy: 7100  
Jasmine: 3700**

"Finally I'll throw this card facedown and end my turn" Jasmine finished

Missy narrowed her eyes "You think just because you've destroyed my DNA Surgery means that you've won!" she hissed "Well I still have the most powerful monster on the field, now Princess, attack that Warrior" Princess fired a blast of magic at Breaker.

"Sorry but I play my facedown" Jasmine countered "Negate Attack so now I can negate your attack and end your battle phase"

"Big deal" Missy stated "I'll just get you next turn"

Jasmine drew her card and smirked "Sorry, but there won't be a next turn for your Princess, I activate Monster reborn to summon my Marauding Captain from the Grave" Marauding Captain appeared from the field "And then I'll equip him with a Great Sword" One of Marauding Captain's blades was replaced with a large sword (MC Attack 1200-1500)

"Big deal!" Missy snorted "It's just 300 points; it's nowhere near powerful enough to defeat my Princess"

"No but this will be" Jasmine stated "A monster equipped with Great Sword counts as 2 sacrifices for a warrior. So now I sacrifice her to summon Gilford the Legend in attack mode" Marauding Captain vanished and was replaced with a tall armoured warrior armed with a massive sword (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2000)

"All right!" Mindy cheered "Jasmine's best monster"

"And now my Gilford gets equipped with ever equip spell in my grave" Jasmine stated "So now Great Sword, Lightning Blade and Jewel Sword get equipped to him" three blades appeared on Gilford's belt (GTL Attack 2600-4000) "And then I'll equip him with Malevolent Nuzzler to give him an extra 700 attack points" a spirit was absorbed by Gilford making him even more powerful (GTL Attack 4000-4700) "And to make it worse for you, I'll play Shrink to half the attack points of your Princess" Princess shrieked as she shrunk to half her size (IP Attack 3900-1950)

Mindy smirked "Get her Jasmine!" she cheered

"I will" Jasmine stated "Now Gilford, attack that Princess" Gilford slashed his swords and cut the Princess into several pieces. Insect Princess screeched before shattering

 **Missy: 4350  
Jasmine: 3700**

"And don't think that I've forgotten about my Breaker" Jasmine added and then Breaker slashed Missy with his staff

 **Missy: 2750  
Jasmine: 3700**

"And now I will end my turn" Jasmine finished "How does it feel now, I have the most powerful monster and you have nothing"

"Shut up!" Missy growled "That was just luck, and your monster may be powerful but I have something that will get rid of it, this spell card, Lightning Vortex!"

"No!" Mindy gasped

"Yes!" Missy sneered "Now by discarding one card from my hand, all your monsters are destroyed" A huge lightning storm appeared and the lightning destroyed Jasmine's monsters leaving her field empty "And now it's time to avenge my Princess and what better way to do it by summon her friend, I summon Insect Knight in attack mode" an armoured insect wearing armour and wielding a sword and shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1500) "And you won't have next turn since I still have something else to summon, I banish my Insect Soldiers of the Sky and my Flying Kamakiri in order to summon Doom Dozer from my hand" a large centipede monster with a pink underbelly and black back appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2600) "And now this is the end Jasmine, Insect Knight, attack her directly" Insect Soldier slashed Jasmine with her sword causing her to scream as she fell to her knees.

 **Missy: 2750  
Jasmine: 1800**

"And now Doom Dozer, end this" Missy ordered and then Doom Dozer tunnelled underground and jumped back up below Jasmine which threw her backwards.

 **Missy: 2750 (Winner)  
Jasmine: 0000**

"Jasmine!" Mindy gasped as Jasmine collapsed and fell onto her back when Mindy caught her and saw that Jasmine was breathing heavily "What's going on!"

Missy gasped "She lost the duel so now she has to pay the price"

"But you can't do this!" Mindy gasped "You're not a Shadow Duellist"

"I now serve a new master" Missy sneered "Servis here introduced me to Master Livius Erimond who taught me these powers. Now I have to obey his orders and you two were his targets for his mission for the Great Elder One"

"Whatever this mission is, we want no part in it!" Mindy shouted

Servis laughed "It's too late for that" he stated "You already accepted the duels so now you have to duel me, win and we'll leave you alone, lose and both you and your friend will serve us"

"Mindy" Jasmine stated weakly "you have to win this, whatever they're planning is not good, we have to stop them"

"But I'm not a hero" Mindy stated

"You will have to try" Jasmine stated "And remember, don't give up, no matter what happens" Jasmine then closed her eyes as she lost consensus

Servis laughed "Well, if you are done, we still have a duel"

Mindy closed her eyes and then activates her duel disk and drew her opening hand along with Servis.

" **Duel"**

 **Servis: 8000  
Mindy: 8000**

"Ladies First" Mindy stated "And I'll start by activating the spell card Valhalla Hall of the Fallen" a large hall appeared behind Mindy which looked liked the Afterlife "Now if I control no monsters on my field, I can special summon one Fairy from my hand so now I special summon Trickstar Candina in attack mode" a small blond haired fairy wearing yellow robes and holding a megaphone appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 400) "And when she's summoned, I get to add one Trickstar card from my deck to my hand so I'll add my Lycoris, and now I will summon her in attack mode" a small red haired fairy wearing a red robe and holding a sword appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1600 Defence 1200) "And with that, I'll end my turn"

"That's it?" Servis sneered as he drew his 6th card, "Two pathetic little fairies, well they're no match for this, I play Polymerization"

"Well your move has already activated my monsters effects" Mindy stated "Since a card was added to your hand, you are dealt 200 points of damage. And since you played a spell, Candina deals you another 200 points of damage" Lycoris slashed Servis while Candina let out a loud screech from her megaphone.

 **Servis: 7600  
Mindy: 8000**

"Well, those small points don't matter" Servis stated "Now with the help of Polymerization, I fuse Gem Knights Tourmaline and Garnet in order to summon Gem Knight Topaz in attack mode" An orange armoured knight with a black cape and throwing axes appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1800 Defence 1400) "And now I will equip him with Gem Soul which gives him an extra 300 attack points" Topaz glowed as he gained power (GKT Attack 1800-2100) "Also, Gem Soul protects him from being destroyed once. But for now, Topaz attack that Candina" Topaz threw one of his axes that struck Candina and destroyed her

 **Servis: 7600  
Mindy: 7700**

"And there's something else" Servis added "When Topaz destroys a monster in battle, the attack points of your monster are dealt as damage to you" The axe struck Mindy as it flew back causing Mindy to groan in pain

 **Servis: 7600  
Mindy: 5900**

"And it gets worse" Servis added "Topaz can attack you twice so take out that Lycoris" Topaz threw his axe which went through Lycoris and struck Mindy hard which cause her to moan in pain and collapse to her knees

 **Servis: 7600  
Mindy: 3800**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis finished "Maybe you should just give up, I've taken out half your life points."

Mindy groaned as she tried to push herself up 'Maybe he's right, how am I suppose to beat him' but then she remembered Jasmine's last words and she had told her never to give up 'No, I have to do this for Jasmine' she pushed herself up and drew her next card

"Big mistake" Servis mocked "You should have stayed down"

"Jasmine never gave up so neither will I" Mindy stated "Now I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards and gasped at one of them 'Injection Fairy Lily, this will have enough power to defeat that Topaz, but I can't risk my life points since I'm so low on them' but she smiled at the other card "I play the spell card The Fountain in the Sky" a large Fountain made of white stone appeared behind her "And with this, if a Light monster is destroyed, I can remove it from play in order to gain life points equal to its Attack points. And since I haven't summoned yet, thanks to my Hall of the Fallen, I can special summon Athena in attack mode" a tall woman armed with a sword and shield appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 800) "Then I summon Mandrake in attack mode" a small blue haired fairy wearing blue and black robes appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 0 Defence 1000) "And now Athena's effect activates, since another Fairy Type monster has been summoned, she deals you 600 points of damage" Athena slashed Servis with her sword

 **Servis: 7000  
Mindy: 3800**

"And now I activate the other effect of Athena, once per turn I can tribute one Fairy type monster on my field and summon another from my grave, so now my Mandrake is replaced with Candina" the blue haired Fairy was engulfed in light and replaced with the blond haired fairy "And now you are dealt another 600 points of damage" Athena slashed Servis again

 **Servis: 6400  
Mindy: 3800**

"And now I'll activate the spell card Banner of Courage, now when my monsters attack, they gain an extra 200 attack points" Mindy stated "Now Athena attack that Topaz" Athena slashed her sword and slashed Topaz

 **Servis: 5700  
Mindy: 3800**

But Topaz was still on the field "By sacrificing Gem Soul, my monster is safe" Servis stated as Gem Soul shattered (GKT Attack 2100-1800)

"Well it's a good job that my Candina can still attack" Mindy stated as Candina sent out a loud shriek which shattered Topaz

 **Servis: 5500  
Mindy: 3800**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Mindy finished

Servis laughed "So you managed to gain the Upper hand" he stated "Well it won't matter in the end because I still have the cards I need to win this duel. First I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards" Servis drew two cards and smirked "And guess what, I have another Fusion card, Gem Knight Fusion, now I can fuse Gem Knight Obsidian with Gem Knight Sapphire in order Gem Knight Zirconia." A large blue golem like monster appeared on the field with two massive hammers as arms (Level 8 Attack 2900 Defence 2500) "And since Obsidian was sent to the graveyard, I can summon a level 4 or below normal Gem Knight from my grave so now my Garnet returns" a small red knight with fireballs in his hands appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 0) "And now, Zirconia, attack that Athena" Zirconia swung his hammer around and then slammed it down and crushed Athena

 **Servis: 5500  
Mindy: 3500**

"And Garnet attack that Candina" Servis added as Garnet threw a fireball which caused Candina to strike before shattering

 **Servis: 5500  
Mindy 3400**

"I activate the effect of the Fountain in the Sky" Mindy stated "Now by removing Athena from play, I gain her attack points as Life points" Athena appeared as a spirit before turning into golden particles which were absorbed by Mindy

 **Servis: 5500  
Mindy: 6000**

Servis snorted "Well I'll end my turn there" he finished

"My move" Mindy stated as she drew her next card "And I'll play the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Mindy and Servis drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And then I'll play the effect of the Hall, now I can summon my Injection Fairy Lily in attack mode" a small pink haired fairy wearing nurse's robes and holding a large injection needle appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 400 Defence 1500) "And now I activate the spell card Silent Doom which allows me to bring back Lycoris in defence mode" the red haired fairy returned kneeling down on the field. "And then I'll activate the spell card Polymerization which allows me to fuse Darklord Marie and the Forgiving Maiden in order to summon St Joan in attack mode" a female warrior in armour with short hair and having an angel like appearance appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2800 Defence 2000) "And now St Joan, attack that Zirconia and remember, Banner of courage gives her an extra 200 attack points" St Joan slashed Zirconia which caused the Golem to crumble before shattering.

 **Servis: 5400  
Mindy: 6000**

"And now my Lily will attack Garnet, she may be weak but by sacrificing 2000 life points, she gains 300 attack points during the battle phase" Fairy Lily grew bigger as she gained more power (IFL Attack 400-3400) then she speared Garnet through the chest and destroyed the monster.

 **Servis: 3900  
Mindy: 4000**

"And now I will play my facedown, Jar of Greed to draw another card" Mindy stated "Then I will play the spell Card Destruction, now we both have to discard our entire hands and drew the number of cards we hand" Mindy and Servis discarded their hands and drew new cards "And remember, when new cards are added to your hand, Lycoris deals you 200 points of damage so that's 1200 more points" Lycoris slashed Servis again

 **Servis: 2700  
Mindy: 4000**

"And I will throw my last card facedown and end my turn" Mindy finished

Servis narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card but Mindy smiled again "Whatever you have in your hand won't help, I play my trap card Trickstar Reincarnation" she stated "Now your entire hand is banished and you draw all your cards again, and with each new card, you lose 200 life points thanks to Lycoris so that's 7 cards and 1400 points of damage" Servis scowled as he removed his hand and drew 7 cards and then Lycoris slashed him again

 **Servis: 1300  
Mindy: 4000**

"You may have more life points than me" Servis stated "But thanks to you, I now have a hand full of good cards which I will use to defeat you. First I play the spell card Double Summon which allows me to normal summon twice this turn, so first I summon Gem Knight Emerald in attack mode" a pale green armoured knight with a shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800) then I summon Gem Knight Alexandrite" a pale knight with different coloured gems appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200) "And now I activate Alexandrite's effect, now by sacrificing her, I can summon one Gem Knight Normal monster from my deck, so now my Lapis takes his place" Alexandrite was engulfed in light and was replaced by a small rock girl (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 100)

"Wait, that monster is weaker than Alexandrite" Mindy stated as now she was confused "Why would you do that"

"So that I could use Emerald's effect" Servis explained "Now by banish Emerald along with my Lapis, I can summon one Gem Knight Fusion Monster from my graveyard, so now Topaz returns" Emerald And Lapis vanished and the orange warrior returned "And now I play the spell card Gem Explosive, now the attack points of Topaz are doubled, but at the end of the turn, Topaz is destroyed but that won't matter since this duel is over as when Topaz destroys your monsters, you will lose the rest of your life points" Topaz glowed so much that it looked like he was about to explode (GKT Attack 1800-3600)

"But with my Fountain in the Sky, I can gain life points equal to my monsters attack points" Mindy stated

Servis smirked "True but that only works for Light Attributes and your Lily is an Earth type, that will reduce your life points so low that destroying St Joan will end the Duel" he stated and Mindy widened her eyes in horror when she realised that he was right "Now, Topaz, destroy that Lily" Topaz threw his axe which struck Injection Fairy Lily which made the small fairy scream as she was cut into two pieces. Mindy screamed as the axe struck her as she lost life points thanks to Topaz's effect

 **Servis: 1300  
Mindy: 400**

"It's over" Servis sneered "Your life points won't survive this next attack since Topaz can attack twice, now destroy St Joan and end this duel" Topaz threw his second axe which went through St Joan causing the monster to explode which threw Mindy back and she fell unconscious as she hit the ground.

Servis smirked as he deactivated his duel disk and walked over to the fallen body of Mindy as Missy walked over to Jasmine "Well, now we need to take them to Livius before they wake up" he stated

"And soon he will force them to help us" Missy stated "But I still don't see why we need them, these girls are weak"

"But they're the only ones who can bring the Amell Girl to us" Servis stated "She's important to the Elder One's plan"

"Fine" Missy groaned as she picked up Jasmine's fallen body and placed the girl over her shoulder "Let's just get this done quick"

"I agree" Servis stated as he picked Mindy up and placed her over his shoulder "We only have a limited time before these two are discovered to be missing and our chance to bring the Amell Girl to us will be lost" then Missy and Servis took Jasmine and Mindy deeper into the woods to find Master Livius.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well another chapter finished and two duels in this one. Mindy uses a Trickstar deck but without the link monsters though I'm not sure if she will use them in her later duels but I just couldn't find enough Fairy monsters to make a Fairy deck without an archetype. This will be the last time Servis duels for a while since he had duel 3 times already but he will duel again with some new created cards later in the story. The next chapter will take a while because I am planning to work on my chapter of Rise of the Divines and get it finished.**


	5. Betrayal

**Betrayal:**

Livius Erimond stood in an old room in the abandoned Dorm on Duel Academy Island. Servis stood near him while his brainwashed minions, Missy, Torimaki and Raizou stood a bit further away. Jasmine and Mindy were lying on a large table and were surrounded by dark magic that Livius was casting. After a while, the dark magic faded and the two girls opened their eyes and stood up and looked at Livius who sneered when he saw their now blank eyes.

"How may we serve you master Livius?" Mindy asked in a toneless voice

Livius sneered "You will receive your orders soon" he said and then he looked at Livius "Well now we have all the minions we need, now we just need to get the girl"

"Well we have to move tonight" Servis stated "The students go home tomorrow morning so we have to get her to us tonight"

"Why do we need these two?" Missy asked pointed as Jasmine and Mindy who didn't respond, while Jasmine and Mindy had been placed under a spell to control them, Missy had more freedom since they needed her as a duellist "These two idiots are weak."

"We need them to lure Solona out to us" Servis reminded "She wouldn't trust you and these two were just perfect for us to control."

"So now I will send our two minions to get Solona and lure her to us" Livius sneered

"Although we shouldn't lure her to the Abandoned Dorm" Servis suggested "If we do Solona will suspect something, I suggest to a clearing"

"Good idea" Livius stated "Remember, when we have her we will have to duel her"

Torimaki and Raizou stepped forward "Master" Torimaki stated "Allow one of us to duel her"

"We must make her pay for humiliating us" Raizou spat

Livius shook his head "I'll be the one duelling her" he stated "I am taking no chances, even if I lose then I'll just pull a trick so we can capture her, remember, our mission is to capture the girl, not defeat her." Then he looked at Jasmine and Mindy "Now, you two are to go to back to the Girl's Dorm and convince the Amell girl to come to us but with no one else must follow you"

"Yes master" Jasmine stated

"We understand" Mindy added

Livius shook his hand and a bit of colour returned to the girl's eyes so Solona wouldn't suspect something "Now bring her to me" he commanded and then the two girls left the Dorm and went back to their Dorms. Then Livius left the Dorm with the others to go to the Clearing to prepare for his upcoming duel and he looked at a card that was filled with dark magic "If she is about to win then I will use this card to stop her, no matter what happens in this duel, I will capture that girl."

...

In the Blue Girl's dorm, Solona Amell sat in one of the lounges in the Dorm and sat in a couch as she looked through her deck.

"You've been looking through your cards for some time" Solona's friend Sereda Aeducan stated as she entered the room with Alexis

Solona looked at her "Well I need to be prepared for next year" she stated "And it never hurts to make a few new strategies."

"I agree" Alexis stated "A great duellist always makes new moves otherwise they become too predictable"

"I wonder who the best duellist will be next year." Solona wondered "Zane was the best duellist this year but he's going into the Pro League next year since this was his final year."

"It would have been my brother's final year as well" Alexis stated "But because he went missing, he has to redo what he missed so as he missed his third year and most of his second, he has to re-sit both years"

"So he will graduate at the same time as you" Sereda stated

"He will" Alexis smiled "He's still a bit worried about using his Red Eyes but hopefully he can overcome that fear."

"It would be great to see how good the real Atticus is as a Duellist" Solona stated

"I would like to see you face him off Solona" Sereda suggested "Red Eyes vs. Blue Eyes, which would be a great duel to watch"

"Maybe we'll get a chance next year" Solona suggested "Tomorrow we go home for the Summer where I will be spending time with my parents and brother, this will be the first time we will all be together as a family."

"The same for me" Alexis stated "Atticus and I will be together as a family with our parents for the first time since he vanished"

"And then when we come back here, we will be here for a second year" Sereda added

Solona then looked a little worried "As long as nothing bad happens" she stated "Those two Obelisk Boys still haven't been found and my father is worried about the Venatori, I just hope they don't interfere with our holidays, I've had enough Shadow Duels for this year after the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts"

"I agree" Sereda stated and then she looked at Alexis "You know, I haven't seen Jasmine or Mindy for some time, I wonder where they are"

It was then that the door opened and the two girls that Sereda had been talking about came into view, Jasmine and Mindy. The two of them looked exhausted and it seemed that something had happened to them.

"Solona" Jasmine sighed as she let out a few deep breaths "We need your help"

Solona stood up from the couch "What's happened?" she asked "We've been wondering where you two have been"

"Yesterday we went for a walk where we were ambushed by Missy and her gang of girls" Mindy stated "They made us duel her and when we lost, she stole our cards."

"Why haven't you told one of the teachers?" Alexis asked

"Because Missy said that if we told any of the staff then she would dump our cards in the ocean and we are unable to get new decks." Jasmine stated "Missy said she would give them back if you beat her in a duel Solona."

"So now I have to beat Missy in a duel" Solona questioned, she knew Missy and she was someone who Solona saw should not be in Obelisk Blue, she may be a great duellist but her attitude was a problem, she was rude to everyone from the lower dorms and even to other Obelisk girls. She was someone who saw herself as the top duellist even though Solona had actually duelled her before during a friendly duel "Well I can do that" Soloan replied "I've beaten her before and I'm sure I can do it again"

"Thanks Solona" Mindy stated "But you have to go alone from what Missy said, she'll dump our cards if anyone else goes with you"

Solona sighed and looked at Alexis and Sereda "Sorry but it looks like I'll have to do this alone" she stated

Sereda looked at her friend "But Solona, what about what your father said?" she asked "He told you not to leave the Dorm until it's time to go home"

"But I can't let Missy get away with this" Solona stated "I'll be back before Curfew" and then she left the dorm with Jasmine and Mindy leaving Sereda and Alexis alone.

As soon as the doors closed, Sereda looked at Alexis "Something's not right" she stated

"I agree" Alexis stated "I'm sure I saw Missy's Gang over in the card shop trying to get the best cards before the year is out and then they spent the rest of the time in the Dorm."

Sereda looked confused "But why would Jasmine and Mindy lie?" she questioned "That's not like them"

Alexis noticed something else "There was something wrong with their behaviour, I thought there was something wrong with their eyes and their voices had less emotion in them. I think we better follow and keep an eye on Solona"

"I agree" Sereda sighed "But let's stay out of sight in case what they said is true" then the two of them left the dorm to follow Solona.

...

After a long walk, Jasmine and Mindy led Solona to a clearing where they said Missy was waiting, but for some reason, she wasn't here.

"Hey Missy!" Solona called out "Where are you, I know you are here!"

Then Solona heard a laugh and she turned to see Missy standing nearby "I'm right here"

Solona glared at her "All right Missy, you are going to return those cards that you stole from my friends!" she ordered "Those cards do not belong to you and you don't mess with someone's deck"

Missy narrowed her eyes at Solona "I don't remember stealing any cards" she stated

Solona still glared at her "Don't play with me!" she snapped "Jasmine and Mindy told me that you stole their cards when you beat them"

"Well Missy didn't defeat them alone" another voice called and then someone else stepped beside Missy and Solona recognise him as she had duelled him just a few days ago.

"Servis?" Solona questioned "What are you doing here, just what is going on?"

Then Servis and Missy had wicked sneers on their faces and Solona jumped at the sound of a loud cackle "You have fallen into my trap my dear girl" then Solona saw a man with a trimmed beard, black hair and sneaky look on his face step in front of Missy and Servis.

Solona did not like the look of this man at all and now realised that something was wrong "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded "You know that if you do anything then you will be in a lot of trouble"

The man laughed "Well we've been after you for some time." He said "My master has an interest in you and something you have. And I think you know who we are and if you don't well maybe this will help you realise." The man then pulled back his sleeve to reveal a black tattoo on his arm which was in the shape of a dragon.

Solona widened her eyes in horror as she knew the symbol "The symbol of the Venatori!" she gasped "You work for the for that Shadow Cult"

The man laughed "I don't work for them, I run the cult" he said "Livius Erimond at your service highest ranked member just below the Elder One himself who really wants to see you in person and I came here to collect you"

Solona narrowed her eyes "I'm not going with you creep!" she snapped

Livius sneered "I knew you would say that so I'll have to beat you in a duel"

"Well I'm ready for that" Solona stated as she went into her bag to find her Duel Disk and deck.

...

Meanwhile, Sereda and Alexis were walking through the forest trying to find Solona, they had ended up losing her after Sereda had tripped on a tree root and when Alexis had helped her back up, Solona had vanished from view and now they couldn't find her again.

"She must be somewhere around here" Sereda stated "I hope she didn't go to the Abandoned Dorm"

"I don't think Solona would go there" Alexis stated "Besides, Missy would never go there, she would risk getting expelled and Solona would know that something is going on if she was taken there"

"Well we need to find her soon" Sereda sighed "I have a bad feeling that something is going on and Solona is in danger"

Sereda and Alexis then carried on walking to try and find Solona.

...

Back with Solona, she had gotten her Duel Disk and Deck ready and was now standing opposite Livius but she had a question "So why did you bring Missy into this?" she questioned

Livius laughed "I could not do this alone" he stated "Servis was already under our control and he gave Missy the same treatment but we needed more so I brainwashed those two idiotic boys from the Blue Dorm"

"Raizou and Torimaki?" Solona questioned

Livius sneered "I did" he stated "Good duellists but too arrogant but perfect to create a distraction. Your friends Jasmine and Mindy were only needed to lure you here where I can beat you"

"Well I won't let you!" Solona snapped "I won't allow you to take Urthemiel. Now let's do this" Solona and Livius drew their opening 5 cards and activated their Duel Disks.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Solona: 8000  
Livius: 8000**

"Ladies' first" Solona smirked as she drew her sixth card "And I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode" a large dragon with sparkling scales appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2000 Defence 100) "Then I will throw one card facedown and end my turn"

Livius smirked as he drew his card "I will show you the power that the Venatori has" he sneered "I'll start by playing the spell card Cost Down, now by discarding one card from my hand, all monsters in my hand decrease by 2 levels." Livius discarded a card and sneered again "And it gets worse, since now I play the spell card Monster reborn which allows me to summon the monster I just discarded, Silva Warlord of Darkworld" a large black skeleton monster with a large sword appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400) "And since I still haven't normal summoned yet, I still have that to do and since my monsters have decreased by 2 levels, I can now summoned Goldd Wu-Lord of Dark World without a sacrifice" a golden skeleton like monster with a large axe appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400)

Solona gasped in shock as now Livius had two powerful monsters on his field

"Now Goldd, attack that Dragon" Livius ordered and Goldd swung his axe and slashed Alexandrite Dragon causing the Dragon to groan before shattering.

 **Solona: 7700  
Livius: 8000**

"And now that your monster is gone, you're wide open" Livius sneered "Now Silva, attack her directly" Silva swung his sword which struck Solona causing her to scream in pain as she was sent flying back where she landed on her back as she hit the floor."

 **Solona: 6400  
Livius: 8000**

"And now I shall end my turn" Livius finished and sneered "Why don't you just give up now and hand yourself over to the Elder One"

Solona groaned as she managed to push herself up "Never" she said as she managed to stand up "If your Elder One gets all the Old God Cards then he can take over the world, and there is no way I'm going to allow that to happen" she then looked at her field "And this card will help me, I play my facedown card Damage Condenser, since I took 2600 points of damage, I can summon a monster from my deck with attack points equal to the life points I lost, so I'll summon my Luster Dragon #2 in attack mode" a sparkling blue scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1400) "And now it's my turn" Solona drew her card and smirked "And now I summon Kaibaman in attack mode" a monster that looked like Seto Kaiba appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 700) "And now I activate his effect, by sacrificing him, I can summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand" Kaibaman was engulfed in light and then Solona's powerful blue and white scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2800) "And now both my dragons are going to destroy your monsters" Blue Eyes unleashed a blue blast which engulfed Silva and destroyed him while Luster Dragon's blast destroyed Goldd

 **Solona: 6400  
Livius: 7200**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

Livius narrowed her eyes "Just because you have summoned one of your most powerful monsters in your deck doesn't mean that this duel is over" he sneered "I play the spell card Dark World Dealings, now we both draw one card but we have to discard one card as well from our hands" Solona drew a card and then discarded another Blue Eyes White Dragon from her hand. Then Livius drew one card and discarded another and then smirked "And since I discarded Beiige Vanguard of Dark World, his effect activates which allows me to special summon him in defence mode" a skeleton fiend with a spear appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1300) "And now I normal summon Renge Gatekeeper of Dark World in defence mode" a large golem like monster with orange hands to block attacks appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 100 Defence 2100) "And now I will end my turn"

Solona drew her card "I'll start by summoning Masked Dragon in attack mode" a white and red scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 1100) "And now my Masked Dragon will attack that Beiige" Masked Dragon sent a fireball which engulfed and destroyed Beiige. "Next Luster Dragon will take out that Renge" Luster Dragon's blast engulfed and destroyed Renge "And now my Blue Eyes will attack you directly" Blue Eyes blast engulfed Livius causing him to smirk as the blast engulfed him.

 **Solona: 6400  
Livius: 4200**

"That felt good" Livius sneered "I've played in Shadow Games for so long that this pain feels good"

Solona looked at him like he was mad and then she carried on her turn "Finally I'll throw one card facedown and end my turn"

Livius narrowed his eyes "This duel is not over yet!" he snarled and smirked at the card he drew "And your luck has come to an end, first I play the spell card Dark World Lightning, now by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy your facedown" Livius discarded a card and then Solona's facedown shattered "And there's more, the card I discarded was Infector, Infection of Dark World so now his ability activates and this monster is equipped to your Blue Eyes" a large black spider appeared on the field and wrapped around Blue Eyes "Now your monster can no longer attack but there's more but you will see that in three of your turns. Now I play the spell card Foolish Burial in order to send a monster from my deck to my grave. Now I summon Scarr Scout of Dark World in attack mode" a small four legged red fiend with clawed legs holding a dagger appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 500 Defence 500) "But he won't be on my field for long because now I'm returning him to my hand" Scarr vanished and reappeared in Livius' hand "Doing this allows me to activate the effect of one of my monsters in my graveyard, the one I discarded with Foolish Burial. Now I can summon him from the graveyard, say hello to Grapha Dragon Lord of Dark World" a fiend like dragon appeared on the field and roared very loudly (Level 8 Attack 2700 Defence 1800) "And this monster is what I need to make this duel hard for you, now attack that Luster Dragon" Grapha fired a blast of dark fire from his mouth which engulfed Luster Dragon which made the dragon groan before shattering.

 **Solona: 6100  
Livius: 4200**

"And now I will end my turn" Livius finished "Now make your move"

Solona placed her hand on her deck and then drew her card 'This is going to be harder than I thought' she thought in her mind 'Livius is one of the top members of the Venatori, but I have to win this otherwise the Venatori will be closer to taking over the world.' Then she drew her card

Livius sneered "Why don't you just give up now, hand that Urthemiel and yourself over to the Elder One, he might even be merciful with you"

Solona narrowed her eyes "Never!" she snapped "I never gave up when I fought the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts and I will never give up here either."

"Well first you take 500 points of damage thanks to Infector's effect and now one turn is over." Livius stated and Infector who was attached to Blue Eyes' back spat acid at Solona which made her groan in pain

 **Solona: 5400  
Livius: 4200**

"Well it is still my go" Solona stated "First I will switch Masked Dragon into defence mode" Masked Dragon wrapped his wings around his body to protect himself "And then I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue in attack mode" a young girl with long blue hair and a brown tunic appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 0 Defence 0) "And then I will end my turn"

Livius smirked "I can't believe how much of a fool you are" he stated "That Maiden is very weak and it will cost you. But first I summon Broww Huntsman of Dark World in attack mode" a fiend like bird wielding a bow appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 800) "And now he will attack your Masked Dragon" Broww fired an arrow from his bow which went through Masked Dragon's shield causing the dragon to shriek before shattering.

Solona sighed "Masked Dragon has a special effect" she stated "Since you've destroyed him in battle, I can summon a dragon type monster from my deck with 500 attack points or less so now I summon Blackland Fire Dragon in attack mode" a green scaled dragon with white horns and claws appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 800)

"Well that card won't help you" Livius sneered "But I have a better target for Grapha, attack that Maiden and you will take a huge loss in life points." Grapha unleashed a blast of fire which struck Maiden which made Livius smirk but then the blast faded and Maiden was still on the field but now kneeling down "What!" he gasped "What happened?"

"My Maiden's effect activated" Solona stated "When you attack her, I can negate the attack and change her battle position."

"So you summoned her in attack mode on purpose, it wasn't a mistake!" Livius snarled

"That's right" Solona smirked "And since you fell for it, you've activated my Maiden's other effect which allows me to summon my Blue Eyes from the grave, one I discarded when you activated Dark World Dealings" Another Blue Eyes appeared on the field.

Livius narrowed his eyes, "I end my turn" he finished

"My move" Solona stated as she drew her next card

"But first you lose another 500 life points thanks to Infector" Livius stated as Solona groaned after being hit by more poison

 **Solona: 4900  
Livius: 4200**

"Well I activate the spell card Polymerization" Solona stated "And I use it to fuse my Blue Eyes along with my Blackland Fire Dragon." Solona's unaffected Blue eyes and the Green scaled dragon were sucked into a portal "This allows me to fusion summon First of the Dragons in attack mode" a massive dark blue scaled dragon with red eyes appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 2700 Defence 2000) "He may be weaker than my Blue Eyes but he has an effect that makes him worth keeping around. But now he will attack your Broww" The dragon unleashed a blast of fire which engulfed and destroyed Broww

 **Solona: 4900  
Livius: 2900**

"And finally I will place one card facedown and then that will do it for my turn" Solona finished

Livius narrowed his eyes "That dragon won't protect you forever!" Livius snarled and looked at his hand and then he laughed "And he won't be safe from this, I play the field spell card Gates of Dark World" the field changed into a black waste ground with black cliffs on both sides of the field and a dark gate in-between them on Livius' side "Now all my Fiend monsters gain an extra 300 attack points." Grapha roared as he gained more attack points (GDODW Attack: 2700-3000) "And now I summon Bronn Mad King of Dark World in attack mode" a crazy looking fiend with spiky hair and wrapped in chains appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 400) "And he gains 300 attack points as well" Bronn cackled as he gained power (BMKODW Attack 1800-2100) "Now Bronn attack that Maiden" Bronn fired his chains at Maiden and Solona chose not to activate her effect as she would lose a lot of life points if she did. The chains wrapped around Maiden and lifted her up into the air, Maiden screamed and then shattered "And now Grapha, attack that Dragon" Grapha fired a blast which struck the large dragon but the dragon remained on the field.

"First of the Dragons can only be destroyed by a normal monster" Solona stated "And she is unaffected by monster effects."

Livius narrowed his eyes "Well you still take damage" he growled as Solona took a bit of damage.

 **Solona: 4600  
Livius: 2900**

"And now I will end my turn" Livius finished

"My turn" Solona stated as she drew her card

"And now it's time for you to see what Infector does" Livius smirked "You've had three turns since Infector infected your monster so now his real effect activates, instead of dealing you damage, he transforms your monster into something else." Infector wrapped the trapped Blue Eyes in a web made of spider web and then dragged the dragon over to Livius' field, the web then groaned and then hissed loudly as a giant spider with a fiend like man merged on top like a head "Meet Shelog, Spider King of Dark World" Livius stated (Level 10 Attack 3500 Defence 3000) "Now make your move!" he ordered "But soon my Spider King will show you what happens when you mess with the Venatori.

...

Meanwhile, back in Duel Academy, Aristide Amell along with Professor Dorian sat in Dorian's office "I had the entire Island checked over and there is no sign of the Missing students" Dorian stated "Campus Security couldn't find them either"

"This is worrying" Aristide sighed "The students go home tomorrow and if they are still missing then their parents will be worried"

"We'll find them Aristide" Dorian stated "They haven't left the island so they're here somewhere. And if we don't find them in time then you go home with your family, you need to spend time with them after what's happened"

"I want to be with my children" Aristide sighed "But I'm not sure we can have fun if the Venatori are around and planning to make a move"

"I'll see to it that Cassandra has the Venatori checked on" Dorian stated "They need to be checked out to make sure they don't become a bigger threat though we may have a problem with Lucius"

Aristide sighed "I thought that the issue with the Leadership had been dealt with?" he questioned

"Cassandra is a respected woman" Dorian explained "But some in the order believe she is too paranoid and overreacting, Lucius is more relaxed but that could make these Shadow Cults more dangerous as they may take advantage"

"Well no matter what the Venatori are dangerous" Aristide stated as he looked out of a window at the moon which was high in the sky "And I sure hope that my daughter will be safe, she will be a major target for the Venatori as they've taken an interest in her."

Dorian looked at his friend "Solona's a great duellist" he stated "She'll be okay" neither of them had no idea what Solona was doing right now and that she was duelling a high ranking member of the Venatori.

...

Solona groaned as now Livius had a new powerful monster on his field, he may not be able to destroy them but she decided that she needed to build up her defence "I play my facedown card, Call of the Haunted" she stated "Now I can bring back one of my Blue Eyes in my graveyard to the field" one of the Blue Eyes in Solona's field appeared on the field and wrapped his wings around him to protect himself "Now I summon Koumori Dragon in attack mode" a small dark purple dragon appeared on the field wrapping himself up (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200) "And now First of the Dragons, attack that Bronn" The massive dragon sent a massive fire blast which engulfed Bronn causing the Mad King to squirm around before shattering

 **Solona: 4600  
Livius: 2300**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

Livius smirked "If that's it then you're about to feel the wrath of my Spider King" he stated "First I summon Zure Knight of Dark World in attack mode" a tall fiend with a sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1500) "But he won't be around for long because now I'm going to sacrifice him in order to activate my Spider King's special ability, now he can destroy one monster on your field so now I destroy your Blue Eyes since your First of the Dragons is immune to my monster effects" Shelog send a web that wrapped around Blue Eyes encasing him in webbing which then crushed the dragon and destroyed him. "And now I activate the spell card Dark World Poisoning, your First may be immune to monster effects but not to spell cards, now by discarding one card from my deck, I can negate your monster's effect and half his attack points until the end of this turn" Solona gasped as a purple liquid was poured on her large dragon which made the dragon become weaker (FOTD Attack 2700-1350) "And now Shelog, attack that First" Livius ordered and then the webbing encased the dragon and destroyed her and the webbing knocked Solona back as well making her scream.

 **Solona: 2150  
Livius: 2300**

"And my Grapha still has his attack as well" Livius stated "Destroy that last dragon" Grapha unleashed his blast which destroyed Solona's last monster leaving her field empty "And now I end my turn so you better hope that you have something good otherwise you will lose as my monsters will destroy you on your next turn"

Solona gasped as she drew her next card 'I have to draw something good otherwise those monsters will destroy me next turn so she smiled at the card she drew "First I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Blackland" the green dragon returned to the field " Then I play the spell Card of Demise so now I draw until I hold 5 cards" Solona drew until she held five cards in her hand "And with Pot of Greed, I get two more cards" Solona drew two cards and had 6 cards in her hand "now I activate the spell cards Dian Keto the Cure Master and Goblin's secret remedy so now I gain 1600 life points" Solona glowed as she began healing

 **Solona: 3750  
Livius: 2300**

"Next I play the spell card Fusion Recovery so now I get my Blue Eyes and Polymerization back to my hand" Solona added as two cards returned to her hand "But Blackland won't be around for long because now I play the Ritual Spell White Dragon Ritual which allows me to tribute me Blackland to Ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon" a rune appeared around Blackland which made the green dragon fade and replace him with a white knight riding on a light blue dragon (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1200) "But now I activate my Paladin's ability, now by sacrificing him, my final Blue Eyes is summoned from my deck" Paladin flew into the air and glowed and was replaced with the large blue dragon "And now with Polymerization, I can fuse him with my other blue eyes in my hand to summon Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon" The two blue eyes appeared on the field and were then sucked into a portal and then the large two headed blue dragon appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And with Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your field spell" the field was blown away by the Typhoon and the Dark World Monsters returned to their normal attack points (GDKODW Attack 3000-2700) (SSKODW Attack 3800-3500) "And now my Twin burst will attack that Grapha" The first head unleashed a blast that destroyed Grapha.

 **Solona: 3750  
Livius: 2000**

"And my Twin Burst can attack twice so attack that Shelog" Solona added and then the second head sent a blast at Shelog but Shelog fought back because he was stronger

"Wait, what is she doing?" Servis questioned from the sidelines

"She must be going crazy" Missy suggested

This made Livius laugh "Are you mad?" he questioned "Shelog will destroy your monster"

"No he won't" Solona smirked "This is skilful duelling, Twin Burst can't be destroyed in battle and when he attacks an opponent's monster which is not destroyed, that monster is banished at the end of the damage step, sure I take damage but it's worth it to get rid of the Spider King"

 **Solona: 3250  
Livius: 2000**

Livius gasped as his monster faded and was removed from play, his best monster was now gone and Solona smirked "Since I have no cards left I will end my turn" she stated

Livius narrowed his eyes as he drew his card "Don't think that just because my Spider King is gone means that you've won, this duel still isn't over yet" he then smirked at the card he held in his hand "And this card will end this duel, I remove my Watapon which I discarded on my last turn with Dark World Poisoning and one of my Dark World Monsters in my graveyard from play."

"Wait; are you about to summon what I fear you are?" Solona gasped as she widened her eyes

Livius smirked "You'll see, now appear on my Field, Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End" Solona watched in horror as the large blue and white dragon with orange hair appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500)

"So Urthemiel was right!" Solona gasped "That dark feeling was the Emperor Dragon!"

Livius smirked "And with Card of Sanctity, this seals your fate" he stated "Now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Solona and Livius drew until they held 6 cards, Solona was now worried as she knew that she would lose now because of Chaos Emperor's ability, but then one card she drew caught her eye.

"And now I will end this duel with my dragons effect" Livius stated "By paying 1000 life points, every card on both our fields and hands are destroyed and you take 300 points of damage for each, with 6 cards in our hands plus our two monsters, that's 14 cards and 4200 points of damage, more than enough to end you. End this duel!" Chaos glowed brightly and then exploded and blew Solona backwards and onto her back. Livius smirked as it looked like the duel was over "I win" he smirked but then he saw Solona get up and he was shocked that the duel wasn't over yet"

 **Solona: 50  
Livius: 1000**

"What!" Livius snapped "How did you survive, you should have been defeated thanks to my monster's effect"

Solona smiled "It's a good job that one of the cards I drew saved me" she stated "One of the monsters I discarded was a monster known as Blue Eyes Healing Dragon and when he is sent to the grave by any effect, I gain 1000 life points, just enough to survive your monster"

"You got lucky!" Livius snapped "Make your move, it won't matter, one card can't save you!"

Solona knew he was right but when she drew the card, she smirked "Sometimes, one draw is all it takes and both our fields are empty so all I needed was a good monster to summon and I got one, I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode" the yellow snake dragon with bluish hair appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 600) "So it looks like this duel is over for you, with this attack, the duel is over and you have nothing to save you!"

Livius narrowed his eyes "No!" he snapped "I will not be defeated like this, I will get you Amell whatever it takes" he then revealed a card that he had hidden up his sleeve

"What, but that's cheating!" Solona snapped

Livius sneered "I'm a Shadow Duellist" he sneered "I don't play fair, now let's see how you handle this" he place the card in his duel disk and then there was a huge black explosion which deactivated the field and threw Solona back

 **Duel Terminated**

Livius opened his eyes as the light cleared and he sneered when he saw Solona had been blown back in the explosion and been knocked unconscious. Livius turned to Torimaki and Raizou "Take the girl back to the Dorm" he ordered "I'll prepare her for transportation to the Elder One" The two brainwashed boys picked the fallen Solona up and carried her away and were then followed by the others leaving Livius alone who looked back as he heard someone approaching so he quickly activated his duel disk to leave no evidence that there had been a duel going on. And then he left as well and he smirked as now he would be able to contact the Elder One and inform him of his success.

...

As soon as Livius was gone, Sereda and Alexis arrived at the clearing to try and find Solona. They had searched for ages but there was no sign of her.

"Solona Amell!" Sereda called out "Where are you!"

"We've been searching for ages and we still haven't found any trace of her" Alexis stated "Now I'm getting worried that something has happened to her"

"We don't know that yet" Sereda stated "Maybe she already went back to the Dorm and speaking of that, it's getting close to curfew now so we need to head back. In the Morning we'll see if Solona has returned and if not then we'll inform the others about this"

Alexis then looked down at the floor "I just can't believe that Jasmine and Mindy are involved in this, they never get involved in something like this"

"If they are involved then I doubt they're doing it because they want to do it but because something has forced them to do this" Sereda stated "We better get going before Campus Security arrives" the two girls then left unknown to the fact that Solona had been in the very spot where they had been just a few minutes ago. In the bushes, Livius laughed as he watched the two girls leave and then he walked off into the Dark.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: another chapter finished and now we're getting closer to where the real story begins. I'm afraid that the next chapter will take some time as I'm going on holiday in a few days but I only going to London for a few days so I should be back next week and in the next chapter, one of my characters from the last part of this series will be duelling for the First time and I've already decided on what deck he will use but I'm leaving it a surprise but it will take some time as I'm unfamiliar with this deck and I'm also away so it will be a while before I'm upload the next chapter.**

Created Cards:

Infector, Infection of Dark World: Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000  
if this card is sent to the graveyard by a card effect from field or hand, equip to opponent's monster, on each of their standby phases, deal 500 points of damage to opponent. On third turn, tribute this along with equipped monster and summon Shelog Spider King of Dark World from your deck to your field.

Shelog Spider King of Dark World: Level 10 Attack 3500 Defence 3000  
Tribute 1 Dark World Monster on your field, destroy one monster on your opponent's field

Dark World Poisoning: Normal Spell Card: Discard 1 card from your hand, half the attack points of one monster on the field until the end of the turn.

Blue Eyes Healing Dragon: Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 1800  
When this card is sent to the graveyard from hand or field, gain 1000 life points.


	6. Brotherhood of Fire

**Brotherhood of Fire:**

In the Abandoned Dorm, Livius Erimond knelt in front of an alter which he used to communicate with the Elder One. A shadowy figure appeared in front of the Elder One.

"Livius" the Elder One said from the Shadowy figure "Have you something to report"

"I do Master" Livius stated "I have succeeded, I have the girl with me now and I just need to get the portal open so I can deliver her to you"

"Good job" the Elder One stated "I knew you would never let me down but you still have to bring her to me"

"Don't worry about that" Livius stated "Even if the girl's friends discover us, I still have my brainwashed minions to protect us while I open the portal. They won't be able to get here in time before I bring the girl here, they will have to face against 5 duellists and I've upgraded their decks so that they will be difficult opponents"

"Don't underestimate these duellists like Alexius did" The Elder One stated "Because of him they have one of the Old God cards that will cause issues for you, I don't care what you do, just bring the girl to me as soon as you can!"

"Understood master" Livius stated "I will not fail you." Then the transmission ended and the Elder One faded and Livius laughed and looked beside him where he had used the Elder One's magic to create a magical purple cage and in the cage was a still unconscious Solona lying on her stomach. Livius laughed at her "Soon my dear, you will belong to the Elder One, sadly because of that Old God spirit, you're too powerful for me to brainwash but soon the Elder One will have you and he will be closer to becoming a God and I will serve him in his new world."

...

In the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorm, Alexis and Sereda had gotten out of bed and dressed. Today was the day that they would go home for the holidays but they hadn't gotten their bags ready as they wanted to check on something. They were standing outside Solona's room and they knocked on her door.

"Solona, are you in there?" Alexis called

There was still no answer "I don't like this at all" Sereda stated "I have a feeling that something bad has happened"

"Happened to who?" a voice called and the two girls turned to see the Obelisk Blue girl's head of the dorm, Miss Fontaine "Why are you two knocking on Solona's room"

Alexis looked at her "We just worry that something bad has happened to Solona" she stated "Last night my friends Jasmine and Mindy said that they needed her help with Missy who had stolen their cards. She went with them even though we told her that she couldn't because she had been ordered to stay in because of her father."

Fontaine looked at her "I was just about to come and ask you if you two have seen your friends Jasmine and Mindy" she stated "They didn't return last night and neither did Missy"

Sereda looked at the door "We followed her but we lost sight of her and we were forced to return because it was curfew. We hoped that she would be back at the dorm"

Miss Fontaine looked at the room "Maybe we should see if she's in her room just in case she can't hear us" Alexis and Sereda opened Solona's door and saw that her room was fine and her suitcase with her clothes packed up was resting against the wall for going home. But there was no sign of Solona at all, her bed had not been slept in at all.

"It's just what we feared, she's not here" Alexis gasped

Miss Fontaine looked at the two girls "I'll have to inform her father and the Chancellor about this" she stated "They are not going to like this at all"

...

Miss Fontaine was right, Aristide Amell was horrified when he learnt that his daughter was now missing. Chancellor Sheppard was horrified and had sent a message out to her friends that they needed to come to his office. Alexis and Sereda were already there.

"So let me get this straight" Aristide stated "My daughter went to help your friends Jasmine and Mindy because they needed help?"

"Yes" Alexis answered "But I saw that something was wrong with their eyes and I don't know what's going on now as no one returned that night"

Sheppard placed his head in his hands and sighed "I can't believe this" he stated "Students have disappeared again and now one of the best has just vanished, if something isn't done then the school might not reopen after holidays."

It was then that the rest of Solona's friends entered the room. Chazz, Faren and Jaden from Slifer Red; Theorn, Kallian and Neria from Ra Yellow and finally Aedan and her brother from Obelisk Blue.

"What's going on?" Jaden asked "We got a message saying that something has happened"

"I'm afraid it has Jaden" Sheppard stated "And if something isn't done then this school might be closing down"

"What!" Aedan gasped "But why? What has happened?"

Aristide looked at his son "You're not going to like this son." He stated "But it's about Solona, she's gone missing"

"What!" Daylen shouted in horror "How has she gone missing?"

Sheppard looked at Alexis and Sereda "Maybe you two should tell them what's happened"

Alexis sighed "Yesterday Jasmine and Mindy came to her and told her that Missy had stolen her cards and had challenged her to get them back."

"As Solona is very against bullying she went to stop Missy" Sereda added "But we saw that something was wrong so we followed them but we lost sight of them and they never returned to the Dorm"

There was silence throughout the room until Neria broke it "I can't believe that Jasmine and Mindy are involved in this, this is not like them"

"Maybe they aren't" Theorn suggested "Remember about the Shadow Riders and how they could brainwash someone, maybe something like that has happened"

Aristide looked at them "Solona had said that she felt some dark forces on the island a few days ago" he stated "She had a feeling that the Venatori were involved"

"You mean that Shadow Cult that were after Solona's Urthemiel card?" Aedan questioned "If they're involved then how we will track them down, we had no contact with them since the Shadow Riders."

Professor Dorian who was in the room as well had a thought "Hey, I've just thought of something" he stated "Remember when Solona duelled my old duelling teacher Alexius?" the group nodded at when Solona duelled Dorian's teacher "When she defeated him, she gained another of the Old God cards"

"Yeah" Daylen agreed "She gave it to me as she said it wasn't safe to keep two Old God cards together"

"Well, maybe we can use that card to find Solona" Dorian suggested "The spirit could located Solona's Urthemiel."

"That's a good plan but there's one problem" Theorn stated "Solona doesn't keep the card with her all the time, sometimes she locks it away in her room."

Aristide sighed "We have no other ideas" he stated "we'll just have to hope that she has the card with her"

...

Soon, everyone in the group except for Sheppard were in Daylen's room in the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm where Daylen was placing the combination into his small safe where he had placed the Razikale card. When they had hidden the spirit gate keys, Daylen had used Aedan's safe because he didn't want to risk a thief finding the Razikale card as well and afterwards, Daylen had hidden the safe under his clothes in his cupboard. When he opened the door, he brought out the Razikale card and took it over to his desk. Daylen then placed his hand on the card and closed his eyes as he tried to communicate with the spirit.

"Razikale, if you can hear me, I really need to speak with you" Daylen stated

There was a big gust of wind which blew the curtains around and Daylen looked and saw a large purple transport dragon forming in front of him.

" **So"** the spirit said in a female voice like Urthemiel **"After having me for so long, you decide to summon me"**

Daylen looked at her "I'm sorry" he stated "I just wasn't ready for you, the Old God cards are very powerful"

" **We are"** Razikale stated **"That's why we were all sealed away because in the wrong hands, we could do so much harm. But the Venatori stole us from our tombs. He already has four of my brothers while my sister and other brother are not in their hands"**

Daylen looked at the spirit "My sister holds Urthemiel" he stated "And she's gone missing. We fear that the Venatori may have her and if they do then they could get her as well"

Razikale looked at him **"The Old God cards cannot be stolen by someone, they have to bond with a duellist just like Urthemiel is with your sister and I am with you after you beat Alexius. The Elder One had us but when he stole us from our tombs, he prevented us from bonding which you broke when you defeated my holder."**

Daylen sighed "Is there a connection between the Old God cards, can they find each other"

Razikale looked at him **"I can't find my captured brothers as well as the missing one"** he stated **"But I can sense Urthemiel is still in this world on the island so I could find her."**

"Where is she?" Daylen asked

The spirit of Razikale was quiet for a moment until she looked at Daylen again **"I sense that Urthemiel is on the northern part of this island in an old abandoned building with her bearing being held against her will"** then the spirit of Razikale vanished and Daylen looked at the others

"Well, was Razikale able to find out where Solona is?" Theorn asked

Daylen nodded "Razikale sensed that Urthemiel is in an abandoned building on the north of the island" he stated

Everyone gasped as now they knew where Solona was "There is only one place that matched that description on this island" Dorian stated

"The Abandoned Dorm" Aristide stated "That's where my daughter is"

"Well what are we waiting for" Jaden stated "Let's get over there"

...

In the Abandoned Dorm, Livius was in the large room where Jaden and Alexis duelled against Titan. Servis was next to him while the other brainwashed students were at the side. The cage holding Solona was to the side. Livius was performing some kind of ritual in the room.

"So once this ritual is complete, we'll be back with the Elder One" Servis stated

"We will" Livius stated "Then we will serve the Elder One on his next task he gives us."

Then there was some kind of ringing and Livius activated some kind of mirror which revealed that Solona's brother and friends were outside the Dorm "So they've found us" he stated "It took them longer than I thought."

"Should we go deal with them?" Servis asked

Livius shook his head "I think they need some introductions" he stated and then he left the room with the others.

...

At the front of the Abandoned Dorm, Daylen arrived with everyone "So my sister is in there somewhere" he stated

"Let's just hope that she's alright" Theorn added

Jaden looked forward "We won't find her standing here" he stated "Let's get in there" and then he ran forward.

But the others thought that something was wrong "Jaden wait!" Alexis called

"Something's wrong here" Aedan added

They were right and Jaden was thrown back by an invisible barrier and was thrown back and knocked into Kallian and Neria. Daylen then helped them all up and they stared at the Dorm.

Dorian narrowed his eyes "Whoever is there, you better show yourself now"

Then they all heard a sound of a loud cackle and then the barrier faded and revealed a finely dressed man wearing red and white robes and having a thin trimmed beard "Well you wanted to see me and now you can"

Aristide narrowed his eyes "I remember you" he stated "Livius Erimond, one of the highest members of the Venatori"

Livius laughed "Ah I see you remember me Aristide" he stated "Well like I told you when we captured you before, I serve a living god"

"The Elder One is no living God!" Aristide spat "He is someone who wants power"

"Power that will make us rulers of the Dimensions" Livius laughed "The Old God cards are simply tools of this power"

"No Livius" Dorian stated "You're the tool of the Elder One"

"Maybe I am" Livius laughed "But I will rule the world at the Elder One's side. And we're even closer now since I will deliver him Urthemiel"

Daylen narrowed his eyes "Well you don't have all the cards" he stated as he brought out Razikale "I have Razikale which I stole from your Venatori"

"Well we'll get him back at some point" Livius sneered "But I'm a bit busy and I don't have time for you"

"Where's my sister!" Daylen roared angrily which made Livius laugh

"Oh you want to see your sister?" he questioned "Well here she is" he waved his hands and a magical purple cage appeared. Daylen gasped when he saw his sister lying inside.

"Solona!" he yelled in shock

Livius laughed "You'll never get her back" he mocked "She'll be coming with me to the Elder One"

Theorn stepped forward "We won't let you take her!" he snapped "We'll stop you!"

Livius chuckled "You won't stop me in time." He stated "As soon as I open the portal, I shall escape from this world with the girl. And you won't get to me as first you will have to get past my minions" he waved his hands and then everyone gasped when they saw Livius' brainwashed minions.

"Wait I know him" Aedan stated pointing at one "That's Servis, the boy who duelled Solona a while back"

"And there's my old Obelisk Blue pals" Chazz added "Torimaki and Raizou"

"Jasmine, Mindy!" Alexis gasped as she her two friends

"And Missy!" Sereda added as she spotted Missy

Livius laughed "I couldn't do this alone" he stated "Servis was brainwashed ages ago to be our spy on the island and I needed help to capture your friend. But they're also a good distraction. Now let's see you get though these before I'm finished." He looked at Missy "You will guard the door while I take the others inside"

"Understood Master Livius" Missy stated as he left with the other and Missy activated her duel disk "If you want to get past me then you will have to beat me in a duel and I've much better now"

Alexis narrowed her eyes "As much as I hate this girl, no one deserves this."

"But it seems we'll only get past her if we beat her" Jaden stated

Dorian stepped forward "As a teacher on this island, it's my duty to protect the students so I'll be duelling first"

Aristide nodded "Good luck Dorian" he said which made Dorian smile and Aristide went to the sidelines.

"Will Professor Dorian be okay?" Kallian asked "I've never seen him duel before"

"Which gives him an advantage" Aedan stated "Missy has never seen him duel but Dorian has seen Missy's duels before."

Dorian and Missy drew their opening hands as they activated their duel disks.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Missy: 8000  
Dorian: 8000**

"Ladies first" Missy smirked "And I'll start by summoning Insect Knight in attack mode" a large beetle monster wearing armour and wielding a sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1500) "And now I will end my turn"

Dorian drew his card 'she may have summoned a powerful monster on her first turn, but I have a plan' he then looked at his hand and smirked at the cards he had "I'll start by summoning Brotherhood of the Fire Fist-Bear in attack mode" a Samurai warrior with a fiery spirit of a bear behind him appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1200)

"Brotherhood of the Fire Fist?" Aedan questioned "I've never heard of that deck before"

"I have" Aristide stated "It's a new type of deck that was released not that long ago and it said to include a new type of summoning method with is still new here."

Missy sneered "That monster doesn't stand a chance against my Knight"

"Maybe" Dorian stated "But now I activate the spell card Fire Formation Tenki, now I add 1 level 4 or below Beast Warrior monster to my hand from my deck. And I choose my Hawk. And now the other effect of my Fire Formation activates, since it's a continuous spell, it stays on the field and all Fire Fist monsters gain 100 attack points" The bear warrior glowed as he gained more power (BOTFFB Attack 1600-1700)

"That's still not enough to destroy my Knight" Missy mocked "So all that was useless"

"Not quite" Dorian smirked "My bear has a special ability, now by sacrificing a Fire Formation spell or trap card to the grave, I can destroy one card on your field. So now my Tenki is destroyed and so is your Knight" The spell shattered and then a ball of fire struck Insect Knight and burnt the monster until there was nothing left but ash "And now my Bear can attack your directly" the warrior swung his sword and the fiery spirit of the bear appeared, then the sword was pointed at Missy and the Bear swiped his claws which threw Missy back.

 **Missy: 6400  
Dorian: 8000**

"And now my Bear's second effect activates" Dorian added "Since he just inflicted damage to you, I can set one Fire Formation spell directly from my deck. An then I will end my turn" a facedowns appeared on Dorian's field

"Wow" Neria stated "Looks like Professor Dorian knows how to duel"

"Well he is a teacher here and has been trained by a pro" Alexis added

Missy narrowed her eyes "Just because you pulled off a move like that doesn't mean that you've won. I summon Flying Kamakiri #1 in defence mode." A green insect with red eyes appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 900) "Then I will throw one card facedown and end my turn"

"My move" Dorian stated "And whatever you're planning to do with that facedown, forget it, I activate my facedown spell card Fire Formation Gyokkou. Now you cannot activate your facedown card" a barrier formed around the facedown "And now I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Gorilla in attack mode" a warrior wielding a large spear with the fiery spirit of a Gorilla behind him appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000) "And thanks to my Fire Formation, both monsters gain 100 attack points" both monsters glowed as they gained power (BOTFFB Attack 1600-1700) (BOTFFG Attack 1600-1700) "And now my Gorilla will attack your Kamakiri" the Gorilla spirit pounced on the insect and grabbed him before pulling him apart.

"When Flying Kamakiri #1 is destroyed in battle, I can summon a Wind Attribute monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less" Missy stated "So now I summon Flying Kamakiri #2 in attack mode" a brown insect appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 800)

"Well, my Bear still has his attack" Dorian stated as the Bear pounced on the insect and destroyed him.

 **Missy: 6200  
Dorian: 8000**

"And since my Bear destroyed another monster, I get to set another Fire Formation spell from my deck" Dorian added "Now I will end my turn"

Missy narrowed her eyes "This luck of yours ends now" she hissed as she drew her card "And it will start with this, I play the spell card Graceful Charity so now I get to draw three cards as long as I discard two of them." Missy drew three cards and then discarded two of them "And now I play the spell card Monster Reborn which allows me to summon back one of the cards I discarded, my Pinch Hopper" a large green grasshopper appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 1200) "And then I play Multiplication of Ants which allows me to sacrifice my Pinch Hopper for two Army Ant Tokens" Pinch Hopper vanished and was replaced with two small green ants

"And let me guess, you're going to use Pinch Hopper's effect to summon a powerful insect from your hand?" Dorian asked

Missy smirked "I sure am, now I summon my favourite monster" she stated "The mother of all insects, my Insect Queen" a large insect with a queen like appearance appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2200 Defence 2400) "And for every insect on my field she gains 100 attack points so with three on the field, that's 300 attack points" Insect Queen roared as she gained attack points (IQ Attack 2200-2500) "And I play my final card, Mystical Space Typhoon, now I get to destroy your spell card" Dorian's spell shattered and Dorian's monsters returned to their normal attack points "Now my Insect Queen will attack your Bear, but first I will have to sacrifice one of my ants to allow her to attack." One of the Ants was eaten by the queen and then she spat poison which struck the bear and disintegrated his body as his empty army hit the floor.

 **Missy: 6200  
Dorian: 7200**

"And now my Queen's effect activates" Missy stated "Since she destroyed a monster, she now lays an egg" an egg came from the Queen "And now I will end my turn"

Dorian drew his card "Just because you destroyed my Bear doesn't mean I don't have a plan" he stated "I play my face down, the spell card Fire Formation Tensu. This card gives my Beast Warriors an extra 100 attack points but it also allows me to summon an extra Beast Warrior Each turn. So now I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Boar and Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Rooster" a large bearded warrior with a Boar spirit in purple fire appeared behind him (Level 4 Attack 1100 Defence 1400) along with another warrior with s purple fiery spirit chicken behind him (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 100) "And all my Fire Fists gain 100 attack points thanks to my spell" all of the Fire Fists glowed as they gained power "And while I may not be able to destroy your Insect Queen, I can still destroy that egg and soldier that you have. So first my Gorilla will attack that egg" The fiery spirit of the Gorilla shot forward

"Sorry but I play my trap card" Missy stated "Negate Attack which prevents your attack and ends your battle phase" a large barrier appeared in front of the field and threw Gorilla back.

"Fine" Dorian stated "I end my turn"

Missy smirked as she drew her next card "Now you will see what I can do" she stated "Though I can't do that with a near empty hand so now I play the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Dorian and Missy drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And now I play the Ritual Spell card Javelin Beetle Pact, now by sacrificing monsters that equal level 8 I can Ritual Summon Javelin Beetle from my hand, and since this is a Ritual, I can use my token as one along with my Killer Needle in my hand, so now my Javelin Beetle appears" Missy's token vanished into an orb along with a card in her hand and then they combined to form a large blue Beetle holding a four pointed trident (Level 8 Attack 2450 Defence 2550) "And now my monsters are powerful enough to destroy two of your monsters. So Javelin Beetle, attack that Gorilla while Insect Queen will attack that Boar sacrificing my egg to allow her to attack" The egg was eaten by the queen and then the queen sent her acid which destroyed the Boar while the Beetle stabbed Gorilla through the chest and both monsters were destroyed

 **Missy: 6200  
Dorian: 5250**

"And now I will place one card facedown and activate the spell card Insect Barrier so now you can no longer attack with any insect monsters and I get another egg" Missy stated as Insect Queen laid another egg "Now I will end my turn"

"Wait, that doesn't make much sense" Jaden stated "Dorian's monsters are Beast Warrior type, not insect type"

"Missy must have some kind of plan" Alexis stated

"I sure do" Missy sneered as Dorian drew his card "I activate the my trap card DNA Surgery, so now all monsters on the field become insects, which means that you can't attack anymore"

Dorian's monsters grew legs and scales which make people feel sick.

"That's just gross" Neria shuddered

But Dorian was smirking "A good duellist always has a plan" he stated "And that is a good move but I've seen it done before with Insect Duellists and I can counter it. Thanks to my spell, I can still summon twice this turn, so now I summon a second Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Bear from my hand" another warrior with a bear spirit appeared on the field "And now I sacrifice my Rooster to summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Swallow in attack mode" an armoured warrior wielding two swords and having a blue fiery spirit of a bird above him appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 800) "And when my Swallow is summoned, I get to set one Fire Formation trap from my deck" a facedown appeared in front of Dorian "And now I activate my Bear's effect, now by sacrificing my spell, I can destroy your DNA Surgery which makes your Barrier useless" the trap shattered and Dorian's monsters returned to normal "And I'm allowed to play the trap card that I just set with my Swallow's effect, Fire Formation Tensen. This card allows one of my Beast Warrior monsters to gain 700 attack points until the end phase, but all Beast Warriors gain 300 attack points, and I choose my Swallow to get the extra 700 attack points" Both Swallow and Bear glowed as they gain more power (BOTFFB Attack 1600-1900) (BOTFFS Attack 2000-3000) "Now my Swallow will attack that Beetle" the warrior swung his swords around and then the Swallow swooped down and set the Beetle on fire which then exploded.

 **Missy: 5650  
Dorian: 5250**

"And now my Bear will attack your Egg" Dorian added as the Bear spirit destroyed the egg and dealt more damage to Missy who was thrown back

 **Missy: 3850  
Dorian: 5250**

"And since Bear dealt you damage, I get to set one Fire Formation spell from my deck" Dorian added "Now I will end my turn"

Missy narrowed her eyes as she drew her card "I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Missy drew two extra cards "Now I summon Cockroach Knight in attack mode" a small green cockroach holding a sword appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 800 Defence 900) "But he won't be on the field long though because now I will sacrifice him to allow my queen to attack that Bear, and there's more when my Cockroach Knight is sent to the graveyard, he is returned to the top of my deck" Insect Queen ate the Knight and then spat acid which destroyed the Bear warrior.

 **Missy: 3850  
Dorian: 4850**

"And now my Queen lays another Egg" Missy stated "And then I will end my turn by playing Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that Fire Formation trap card which means your monsters lose their attack bonus" a typhoon blew Dorian's trap away and his monsters lost their attack boast (BOTFFS Attack 2300-2000)

"My move" Dorian stated as he drew his card "And now I will summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Caribou in attack mode" a large muscular man holding a spear with the spirit of a caribou behind him appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1100 Defence 200) "And now I will play the field spell card Molten Destruction" the field changed from the abandoned Dorm in the forest into a volcanic wasteland with an erupting volcano in the distance "And now all Fire Attribute monsters gain 500 attack points" Both Swallow and Caribou glowed orange as they gained more power (BOTFFC Attack 1100-1600) (BOTFFS Attack 2000-2500) "And now Swallow will attack that Insect Queen" the spirit of the Swallow swooped down through Insect Queen and destroyed her.

 **Missy: 3750  
Dorian: 4850**

Missy smirked "I play my trap card, Insect Avenger" she stated "Since you destroyed my Insect Queen, I can end your battle phase"

"Which means that she is safe from taking damage when Caribou attacks that token" Aristide stated

"Missy was a good duellist but not great with her attitude" Alexis stated "But her deck seems to have been improved"

"The Venatori must have done that to make them more difficult to beat" Sereda stated "They may have done it with the others as well"

"Let's just hope Dorian will be alright" Kallian finished

Dorian looked at his hand "I place one card facedown and end my turn" he stated as a facedown card appeared on his field.

"My move" Missy smirked as he drew her card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Insect Pot, now by removing two insect monsters in my grave from play, I get to draw two cards so I remove my two Kamakiri monsters" Missy's monsters were removed from play and she drew two new cards "And now I will activate one of them, Lighting Vortex, now by discarding one card, I can destroy all your monsters" Missy discarded a card and then a huge storm destroyed both Swallow and Caribou

"Great!" Jaden groaned "Now Dorian has no monsters on his field"

"And it gets worse" Missy smirked "I play a Ritual Spell card known as Ant Burrow, this card was given to me by Lucius and it's better than any normal Ritual because it allows me to use monsters in the grave as well as monsters on the field, so now my last token along with my Insect Soldiers of the Sky which I discarded with Lightning Vortex are removed which allows me to Ritual Summon the Ritual monster Burrowing Ant in attack mode" a large brown ant appeared on the field and looked ready to dig (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800) "And there's more, now I remove my Insect Queen and Javelin Beetle in order to summon Doom Dozer in attack mode" a large pink centipede monster appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2600)

"Uh oh!" Jaden groaned "Now Dorian has no defence and Missy has two powerful monsters"

"This looks bad for Dorian" Aedan added

Missy sneered "It sure us" she stated and then pointed at Dorian "Now Burrowing ant, attack him directly, and just to let you know, even if you did have monsters, my ant could still attack your directly thanks to his special ability but since you have no monsters, that doesn't matter" Burrowing Ant tunnelled underground and then shot up in front of Dorian and threw him aside.

 **Missy: 3750  
Dorian: 3050**

"And I still have one more attack left" Missy stated "Doom Dozer, attack him directly" Doom Dozer tunnelled underground and Dorian felt the ground shake underneath him and then there was an explosion of Earth and Dorian was thrown back as Doom Dozer surfaced. Dorian groaned as he landed on his back and lost a huge chunk of his life points.

 **Missy: 3750  
Dorian: 250**

"Professor!" Jaden shouted as he widened his eyes

"Dorian!" Aristide added

Everyone gasped as Dorian was on his back and struggled to get back up while Missy laughed "Since my Doom Dozer dealt you damage, you have to discard the top card of your deck. And now I will end my turn that is unless you just give up now"

Dorian rolled onto his front and pushed himself up "Never!" he hissed "I will never give up, my friend's daughter is in danger and that is reason for me to never give up" he discarded the top card of his deck because of Doom Dozer's effect.

Missy laughed "You're a fool, you barely have any life points left and no monsters while I have two great monsters and plenty of life points, I can't lose"

Dorian smirked "In a duel, anything can happen" he stated as he drew his next card "And I have what I need to win right here, I'll start by playing the spell card Onslaught of the Fire Kings, since I have no monsters and you do, I can summon a Beast Warrior, Beast or Winged Beast from my deck, and I choose Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Snake in attack mode" a young sorcerer wielding flaming magic which took the shape of a snake appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 600) "And now I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Spirit in attack mode" a small girl with fire surrounding her appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 300 Defence 200) "And when my Spirit is normal summoned, I can summon a level 3 fire monster with 200 defence points in my grave in defence mode. So I bring back my Rooster" The chicken spirit monster returned to the field "Now since I used my Spirit's effect, only Beast Warrior monsters can attack this turn"

Missy began laughing "Those monsters don't stand a chance against my insects"

"Maybe but I'm not done yet" Dorian smirked "You see my spirit is a tuner monster"

"A what?" Jaden stated "What's a tuner"

Theorn widened his eyes "Wait, that's familiar, that's the same type of monster that I saw when I duelled against that Shadow Rider Blackbird"

"The one who used that new type of summoning" Aristide stated "Pegasus must have created more decks with that summoning method"

"He did" Dorian stated "Now I tune my level 3 Spirit with my level 3 Rooster which allows me to summon a level 6 Synchro monster." Spirit turned into three circles that surrounded Rooster who then turned transparent and into a beam of light "When the powers of the Fire Fists come together, they form a prince monster, one that charges into battle." Dorian chanted "I Synchro summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Horse Prince" a rider warrior riding on top of a blue fiery horse appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2200 Defence 2200) "And now that he's been Synchro summoned, I can summon a level 3 fire monster from my deck and I choose my Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Hawk in attack mode" a warrior woman appeared on the field wielding a bow which was on fire and her feathered helmet was on fire (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 1500)

"Ha" Missy laughed "Those three monsters mean nothing, they're no match for my monsters"

Dorian smiled "Well I still have this card to play, a familiar trap card, Fire Formation Tensen so now my Horse Prince gains 700 attack points plus all my Beast Warriors gain 300 extra" The three Beast Warriors glowed as they gained power (BOTFFHP Attack 2200-3200) (BOTFFS Attack 1800-2100) (BOTFFH Attack 200-500) "And there's more, since Molten Destruction is still on the field, all Fire Attribute monsters gain 500 attack points, and then there's Hawk's effect, since there is a Fire Formation card on the field, all monsters gain another 500 attack points so that's 1000 extra attack points" Dorian's monsters gained even more power (BOTFFHP Attack 3200-4200) (BOTFFS Attack 2100-3100) (BOTFFH Attack 500-1500)

"All right" Jaden cheered "Dorian can win this now"

"No!" Missy yelled "I can't fail like this"

"It's over!" Dorian smirked "Horse Prince, take out that Doom Dozer" the fiery horse charged forward and trampled over Doom Dozer and the monster shattered.

 **Missy: 2350  
Dorian: 250**

"Next Snake will take out that Ant" Dorian added and then one of the fiery snakes shot forward and bit the ant which made the ant shriek before shattering.

 **Missy: 1050  
Dorian: 250**

"And now Hawk will attack you directly and end this duel" Dorian finished and then Hawk fired an arrow from her bow which turned into a flaming hawk and shot through Missy which sent her flying back as she screamed

 **Missy: 0000  
Dorian: 250 (Winner)**

"All right!" Kallian cheered

"He did!" Neria added

Dorian deactivated his duel disk and walked over to the fallen Missy who had been knocked out when the duel ended and he knelt in front of her.

"Is she alright?" Alexis asked, she may have hated the girl but that didn't mean she wanted anything bad to happen to her.

"She's alright" Dorian stated "Just knocked out, she'll wake up in time though it's likely she won't remember any of this, I'll take her to the Infirmary. You lot need to carry on, Solona is still in there."

"He's right" Aedan stated "We need to get to Livius before he performs this Ritual otherwise we may struggle to find Solona again"

"We won't let that happen" Theorn stated "We will find Solona and make sure she is safe"

Aristide nodded and the Dorian left and then the others went into the Abandoned Dorm with Daylen leading them "Don't worry sister" Daylen said to himself "We'll get you back, I just hope we're not too late because I get the feeling that this isn't the end of this."

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well another chapter finished and the first time we've seen Dorian duel. I had decided on using Brotherhood of the Fire Fists for Dorian a while back but because it was an XYZ and Synchro deck, this was a difficult duel to write. I also created my own insect Ritual monster in this since I couldn't find another one to use.**

 **Created cards:**

Ant Hill: Ritual Spell card: Remove monsters in your grave from play or on your field, Ritual Summon one Burrowing Ant from your hand.

Burrowing Ant: Level 4 Ritual Attack 1800 Defence 800  
You can half the attack points of this monster, it can then attack directly.

Insect Pot: Normal Spell card, remove two Insect monsters in your grave from play, then draw two cards.


	7. Facing friends

**Facing friends:**

Deep in the Abandoned Dorm, in the area where Jaden and Alexis duelled Titan, Livius stood at the altar with Servis next to him and Solona in the cage. But instead of speaking to the Elder One, they used the altar to see what was going on with Missy's duel. They watched as Dorian defeated Missy and then the rest began to walk in.

"So Missy has been defeated" Livius stated "We knew that they could not hold them off forever but I am surprised that she was defeated in one duel."

"Well the next one won't be as easy" Servis stated "I wonder how they will do when they go against one of their own friends. They all hated Missy because of how much of a bully she was. But they may be reluctant to hurt their friends."

"You mean Jasmine and Mindy" Livius stated "They're a waste of duellists if you ask me"

"Which is why I upgraded their decks" Servis smirked "I also made sure they were under our control so they will duel like we duel and not like a couple of fools"

Livius smiled and then looked at the portal which he was trying to open "We still need more power" he stated "This portal won't bring us through yet. We just need to hold them off until the portal is charged" he then laughed "I wish I could see their faces when they arrive here and find out that we've already gone" Livius' laughter was heard all throughout the room and Servis joined in.

...

In another part of the Abandoned Dorm, Aristide lead the group through the Abandoned Dorm since he was the oldest "Now we must stick together" he stated "I don't want anyone to get lost here"

Kallian stared at the images that had been carved into the walls which spoke about the Seven Millennium items "These carvings creep me out" she shuddered "I don't get them at all and they seem to be filled with some sort of dark power"

"They show the Seven Millennium items" Alexis stated "Dorian used to teach about them in class and how important they were to Yugi Moto who once held the puzzle."

"And Dorian also talked about the Millennium Ring which was held by Yugi's friend Bakura" Sereda added "The stories said that the Ring held an evil spirit which possessed Bakura and made him fight his friends."

"These lessons were the only ones where I paid attention" Jaden added cheerfully "It taught us about Yugi's adventures particularly his battle with Marik"

"And he held the Millennium Rod" Neria replied "And Pegasus once held the Millennium Eye"

"It's a shame that not much is known about the key and scales" Aedan sighed "Though Marik's sister once held the necklace."

They were all interrupted by a cough and they looked to see Daylen "This is all interesting but we don't have time for these stories." He stated "My sister is being held prisoner and even minute we waste here means that she is in even more danger. We can talk about this later"

Alexis sighed "He's right" she claimed "The Venatori may have the other people they took to hold us up and we need to defeat them as quickly as we can"

"I just hope we're not too late to save my daughter" Aristide sighed "I still remember what it was like for me to be captured, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her"

"Well we won't find her standing here." Chazz stated "let's go and find her" the others agreed and they all went down the tunnel.

...

Soon they made it to a large room with a small staircase and the old furniture had been covered up with sheets but they would most likely collapse due to the age and not being kept in good condition. But as they made it down the stairs, Aedan noticed two shadows hiding in a different part of the room.

"Who's there?" he demanded "Show yourself"

"As you wish" a voice called and Alexis felt her heart jump as she recognised the voice. She widened her eyes as she watched as her two friends Jasmine and Mindy walked out from their hiding place and blocked the entrance to the next tunnel

"Jazz, Mindy!" Sereda gasped

Jaden narrowed his eyes "So now Livius plans to use our friends against us"

Jasmine and Mindy's eyes looked blank like there was no life in them. They also moved like robots obeying commands "Master Livius gave us a mission" Jasmine stated in a toneless voice

"We will not let you past" Mindy added

Alexis stepped forward "Jazz, Mindy, you have to wake us, that man has taken control of you" but the two girls stayed silent

"It won't work Alexis" Aristide stated "Livius has them under his control. I don't think that these two are even controlling themselves. With Missy they just brainwashed her but these two look like they are being controlled."

"Then how do we get them back?" Neria asked

Aristide sighed "It seems that we will have to duel them in order to free them. We'll have to duel them anyway since we need to get past them in order to find Solona."

Alexis sighed and stepped forward "Alright, if anyone is going to duel them then it's going to be me" she stated

"Fine by me" Jasmine stated as she stepped forward "I'll duel you but don't even think of bringing someone else in, this is not a tag duel"

Aedan shook his head "Looks like they're trying to stall us" he claimed "Holding us off as long as they can"

Kallian looked at Alexis "Alexis will be okay right?" she questioned "I don't want to sound mean but I'll always heard that Jasmine's not a great duellist"

"That's true" Sereda sighed "But it's not Jasmine duelling"

Everyone looked confused and Aristide continued "What Sereda means is that while Alexis will be duelling Jasmine, it's Livius who's controlling her using Jasmine's deck"

"And it's likely that there may be new cards in her deck" Chazz added

Jasmine and Alexis stepped forward and activated their duel disks and drew their opening hand

" **DUEL!"**

 **Alexis: 8000  
Jasmine: 8000**

Alexis looked at her hand "I'll get you back Jasmine, I promise" he said to herself

"I'll take the first move" Jasmine sneered "And I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode" a blond haired warrior wielding two swords appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 400) "And when he is normal summoned, I can summon one level 4 or lower Warrior type monster from my hand, and I choose my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian" a tall green armoured warrior with pointy ears appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1200) "And he can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 attack points or more, but that doesn't matter since you can only attack my Marauding captain. Now I will end my turn"

"My move" Alexis stated as she drew her next card "And I summon Cyber Tutu in attack mode" a small pink haired girl wearing a ballerina tutu appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 800) "And now I equip her with Angel Wing" a pair of wings appeared on Cyber Tutu's back "Now attack, and since your monsters attack points are higher, then my Tutu can attack you directly, and since she's equipped with Angel Wing, she deals an extra 300 damage" Cyber Tutu jumped through the air and kicked Jasmine back a few feet.

 **Alexis: 8000  
Jasmine: 6700**

"And now I will throw one card facedown and end my turn" Alexis finished

"My move" Jasmine stated as she drew her next card "And first of all, I equip my Guardian with Lightning Blade which gives him an extra 800 attack points" the Guardian's sword changed into a large blade with lightning running along the blade (OCG Attack 1400-2200) "And now my Marauding Captain will attack that dancer" Marauding captain charged forward and got ready to swing his sword.

"I play my facedown card" Alexis countered "Double Passé, now I take the damage instead but Cyber Tutu can attack you directly" Alexis felt the sword slash through her which made her groan in pain since this was a Shadow Game but then Cyber Tutu kicked Jasmine again

 **Alexis: 6800  
Jasmine: 5400**

"Alexis did a good move there" Zane claimed "If she has lost Tutu then that Guardian could have attacked her directly"

"But now it will have to attack that Cyber Tutu instead" Jaden finished

"And that's what I'm going to do" Jasmine added "Attack that Tutu" Guardian slashed his sword and slashed through Tutu causing the girl to scream and then shatter

 **Alexis: 5600  
Jasmine: 5400**

"Since my Cyber Blader was equipped with Angel Wing, I get to draw one card" Alexis stated

"Well you're going to need it" Jasmine sneered "I place one card facedown and end my turn"

Alexis drew her next card "My draw" then she looked at her hand "Perfect" she said to herself "I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater in my hand together in order to summon Cyber Blader" the two monsters were sucked into a portal and became a red and purple warrior with long blue hair and wearing ice skates (Level 7 Attack 2100 Defence 800) "And since you have two monsters on your field, her second ability activates which doubles her attack points" Cyber Blader glowed as she powered up (CB Attack 2100-4200) "And now she will attack that Marauding Captain" Cyber Blades staked along the ground and was ready to swing her legs at the captain

"I activate my facedown card" Jasmine countered "Negate Attack, this negates your attack and ends your battle phase" Cyber Blader's attack was blocked by a barrier and then was sent back to Alexis' field

"Well, I summon Cyber Gymnast in defence mode" a muscular woman with tanned skin and long blond hair and wearing a purple gym clothes appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 1800) "Then I will place one card facedown and end my turn"

"My move" Jasmine stated as she drew her next card and smirked "My deck has been upgraded and now it's time to show you what new things I can do. I play the spell card Double Summon which allows me to summon twice this turn. So now I will summon Warrior lady of the Wasteland in attack mode" a woman wearing blue clothing, a torn brown cloak and a hat appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1100 Defence 1200)

Alexis thought 'She must be using Double Summon to summon a fourth monster as she knows that with three monsters on her field, Cyber Blader's third ability will activate'

"And if you think I'm summoning a fourth monster then forget it" Jasmine smirked "I now sacrifice my three monsters in order to summon Gilford the Lightning in attack mode"

"Gilford the Lightning!" Kallian gasped "That's not good" she knew about Gilford's ability

A tall warrior with armour, a red cape and a large sword covered in lightning appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 1400) "And since I used three sacrifices to summon him, all monsters on your field are destroyed" Alexis gasped as Gilford sent out a powerful lightning storm which blasted Cyber Blader and Cyber Gymnast and destroyed them "And now that your field is empty, I can attack you directly, so go attack her" Gilford charged up his sword and then swung it

"Alexis!" Jaden yelled out but Alexis revealed her trap

"I play Call of the Haunted which allows me to one monster from my graveyard in attack mode" Alexis countered "So I summon back my Cyber Blader, and since you only have one monster, she can't be destroyed in battle" Alexis' Cyber Blader returned to the field

"Well you still take damage" Jasmine stated as the blade struck Cyber Blader and Alexis felt a bit of a shock from the lightning

 **Alexis: 4900  
Jasmine: 5400**

"And now I will end my turn" Jasmine finished

"My move" Alexis stated as she drew her card "And I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Alexis drew them and looked at them 'There's nothing that can help me at the minute, but I can prepare for my next turn "Now I play the Field Spell Ritual Sanctuary" the field changed into the insides of a church where a Wedding would take place "Now by discarding one card, I can add one Light Ritual Monster or a Ritual spell card to my hand, so I discard my Fusion Recovery which allows me to add my Machine Angel Absolute Ritual spell to my hand" Alexis added the card to her hand "Now I place one monster facedown then switch my Cyber Blader to defence mode, now I will end my turn"

"My move" Jasmine smirked as she drew her card "And I summon my Command Knight in attack mode" a red haired female warrior wearing red and brown leathers appeared on the field (Level Attack 1200 Defence 1900) "And when she's on the field, all warriors gain 400 attack points" Jasmine's monsters glowed as they gained power (CK Attack 1200-1600) (GTL Attack 2600-3000) "And while your Cyber Blader's attack points double since I have two monsters, that won't matter since it's in defence mode. But to be on the safe side, I'll have Command Knight take out that facedown monster first" Command Knight slashed her sword and sliced the card in half which then shattered. Jasmine smirked and was about to order her next attack but then a barrier appeared on the field protecting Alexis's monsters "What's going on?"

Alexis smiled "You should have destroyed my Blader first" she stated "The monster I had facedown was Unhappy Maiden, and since she was destroyed, your Battle Phase is over"

Jasmine narrowed her eyes "Fine, I end my turn but don't think that this is over"

Alexis drew her card which made her smirk "It's not over yet but it soon will be" she stated "I summon Cyber Petit Angel in attack mode" a small pink ball with eyes, legs and small fairy wings appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 300 Defence 200) "And since she was summoned, I can add a Cyber Angel monster to my hand, and I choose my Cyber Angel Natasha" the card was added to her hand "And now I play Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, now I can sacrifice my Petit Angel but it also allows me to shuffle monsters in my graveyard into my deck, but they must equal the level of the Ritual monster, so I return my Tutu to my deck which allows me to Ritual Summon a Level 5 Cyber Angel monster, so now my Natasha appears on the field since she's level 5" a warrior with the lower body of a black horse with a white tail appeared on the field. She also had four arms with a sword in one of them, dressed in armour and wearing a red and black cape (Level 5 Attack 1000 Defence) "And now her ability activates which allows me to gain life points equal to half the attack points of a monster on my field, so with since you have two monsters and your Command Knight, my Blader has 4600 attack points and I gain 2300 life points" Alexis glowed as she gained more life points

 **Alexis: 7200  
Jasmine: 5400**

"And finally, I'll equip my Natasha with Ritual weapon which gives her an extra 1500 attack points" Alexis added and then Natasha's weapon changed into a bigger sword (CAN Attack 1000-2500) "Then I'll switch Cyber Blader back into attack mode and she will destroy your Gilford" Cyber Blader skated along the field and then swung her feet and the skates cut through Gilford and the monster exploded

 **Alexis: 7200  
Jasmine: 3800**

"And now Natasha will attack your Command Knight" The horse woman charged and swung her sword which went through Command Knight and destroyed the monster.

 **Alexis: 7200  
Jasmine: 3800**

"Now I end my turn"

"My move" Jasmine hissed as she drew her card "And I play Card of Sanctity, now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Jasmine and Alexis drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And now I summon another Marauding Captain." A second captain appeared on the field "And now I activate his ability which allows me to summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode" a warrior wearing black armour appeared on the field with blades attached to his hands (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1600) "But he won't be on the field for long because I'm playing the spell card Release Restraint, now I sacrifice my Iron Knight in order to summon Gearfried the Swordmaster in attack mode" the Iron Knight was absorbed by an orb which then expanded and a muscular warrior with long black hair appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 2200) "And now I will equip him with two spells, Axe of Despair and another Lightning Blade" a large axe appeared in one hand which looked sinister and a blade with lightning covering it appeared in the other hand "My axe gives him an extra 1000 attack points while my Blade gives him an extra 800, so that's 1800 in total" (GTS Attack 2600-4400) "And there's more, each time a spell card is equipped to Gearfried, I can destroy one monster on your field"

"What!" Alexis gasped

"Oh no, that will leave Alexis completely defenceless" Jaden gasped

"Destroy her monsters!" Jasmine ordered and then Gearfried swung his sword and destroyed both of Alexis' monsters "Now he will attack you directly" Gearfried swung his sword again and struck Alexis which made her scream and was sent flying back.

 **Alexis: 2800  
Jasmine: 3800**

"And now my captain will attack you directly" Jasmine added and then the Captain swung his sword and struck Alexis which made Alexis groan again and she collapsed face first to the floor.

 **Alexis: 1600  
Jasmine: 3800**

"And now I will end my turn" Jasmine finished "Make your move if you think you can."

"Don't give up Alexis!" Jaden yelled

"Yeah, don't give up!" Neria added "Remember, Jasmine is your friend and she needs your help"

Alexis slowly pushed herself up "They're right, I can't give up" she said to herself "Jasmine is my friend and she needs my help and so does Mindy. And if we don't get past them then Solona could be in trouble" she then looked at Jasmine "I'm not giving up, I'm going to get you back Jasmine"

"Let's see you try" Jasmine mocked

Alexis drew her next card and saw her hand "These cards are just what I need to help." She said to herself "I'll start by playing my Ritual Sanctuary's effect so now by discarding my Warrior Returning alive spell, I can add a Ritual spell to my hand." Alexis added a Ritual spell to her hand "Then I'll play Monster reborn, this allows me to summon back my Cyber Petit Angel" the small pink angel returned to the field "But she won't be around for long because now I'm sacrificing her in order to summon Cyber Prima in attack mode" a silver armoured warrior with rings around her hands and waist along with a red mask and long silver hair appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2300 Defence 1600) "And since she was tribute summoned, I can destroy all face up spell cards on the field" Cyber Prima emitted a large blast of light which destroyed Alexis' field spell along with the equip spells on Gearfried. (GTS Attack 4400-2600) "And then I'll play the Ritual spell card Machine Angel Ritual, now by sacrificing my Prima along with my Djinn Evolver of Rituals in my hand, I can summon a Level 10 Cyber Angel monster and I choose Cyber Angel Vrash" a large Angel with a cog above her along with large wings appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2000) "And since my Evolver was used for a Ritual summon, that Ritual monster gains 1000 attack points" Vrash glowed as she gained power (CAV Attack 3000-4000) "Next I play my second Machine Angel Absolute Ritual in my hand, this allows me to return my Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to Ritual Summon a Level 8 Ritual monster, and I choose my Cyber Angel Dakini" a blue skinned woman with four arms, two holding a sword and the other two holding a large stick appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2700 Defence 2400) "And when she is summoned, one monster on your field is destroyed and you get to pick"

Jasmine narrowed his eyes "I choose my Captain" she hissed as her Captain shattered

"It seems this duel is over" Alexis smirked "Dakini, attack that warrior" Dakini swung her swords around and slashed Gearfried with both of them which made the warrior groan before shattering

 **Alexis: 1600  
Jasmine: 3700**

"And now you're wide open" Alexis added "Vrash, attack her directly and end this duel" Vrash sent a beam of light which struck Jasmine and sent her flying back where she hit the ground.

 **Alexis: 1600 (Winner)  
Jasmine: 0000**

"Jasmine!" Alexis gasped as she began to walk forward "Are you alright"

But the path was blocked by Mindy "You're not getting past me!" she hissed "She may have been defeated but I still stand"

Alexis sighed as now it seemed she would have to face Mindy as well "Very well" she stated "let's duel"

But Mindy laughed and shook her head "No, you've already duelled once so I'll take on someone else" she looked around and then pointed at Neria "I think I'll take on you Neria Surana"

Neria narrowed her eyes and stepped forward "Very well then" She said "I'll duel you"

Neria and Mindy stepped onto a field and activated their duel disks and then drew 5 cards each.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Neria: 8000  
Mindy: 8000**

"I'll go first" Mindy stated "And I'll start by playing the spell card Valhalla Hall of the Fallen" a large feasting table appeared behind Mindy "Now once per turn, if I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a Fairy type monster from my hand. And now I'll use my spell in order to summon Trickstar Lycoris in attack mode" a small red and purple fairy appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1600 Defence 1200) "And now I summon Trickstar Candina in attack mode" a small blond haired fairy wearing a yellow robe and holding a megaphone appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 400) "And since she was normal summoned, her special ability activates allowing me to add one Trickstar to my hand and I choose my Trickstar Lilybell, and when she's added to my hand by an effect, I can summon her" a small pink haired fairy holding a bell appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 800 Defence 200) "And finally ow I place one card facedown and then end my turn"

"My move" Neria stated as she drew her card

"But before you make your move, I activate my facedown" Mindy countered "Trickstar Reincarnation, now your hand is banished and then you have to draw the same number of cards" Neria sighed as she had some good cards in her hand but she placed her hand in her blazer then drew 6 new cards

"I think I know why Mindy chose Neria" Daylen stated

"Why?" Sereda asked

Daylen looked at Neria "Remember, the Lightsworns have a lot of discarding cards so Neria could deck out if she isn't careful and now she's already lost some good cards now because of that trap"

"And there's more" Mindy added "Since you drew new cards, you lose 200 life points for each card because of Lycoris' ability, plus the 200 since you drew a card before" Lycoris sent a blast of magic from her hands which blew Neria back making her groan in pain

 **Neria: 6600  
Mindy: 8000**

"Now carry on with your move" Mindy continued

Neria looked at her hand and saw that she had some good cards again "I'll start by activating Foolish Burial so now I can send one card in my deck to the grave" Neria sent her Jain to the grave "Now I summon Lumina Lightsworn Summoner in attack mode" a woman with short blond hair and wearing white clothing with balls of magic in her hands appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000) "And now I activate her effect, by discarding one card, I can summon one Lightsworn monster in my grave and so I bring back the monster I discarded, Jain Lightsworn Paladin in attack mode" a female warrior with white hair, white armour, red cape and holding a sword and shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200) "And now my Paladin will attack that Lycoris, and when Jain attacks, she gains 300 attack points" Jain's sword glowed as she charged forward (JLP Attack 1800-2100) Then her sword slashed through Lycoris causing the Fairy to scream before shattering

 **Neria: 6600  
Mindy: 7500**

"And now Lumina will attack that Lilybell" Neria added and then Lumina sent a ball of magic which struck Lilybell and caused the fairy to scream before shattering as well.

 **Neria: 6600  
Mindy: 7300**

"And now I will end my turn" Neria finished "Which means I have to discard 5 cards because of my monster's effects." Neria discarded five cards "And since my Wulf and Lightsworn Sabre were among then, their effects activate, so now I can summon Wulf and Lightsworn Sabre is equipped to Lumina giving her 700 more attack points"." A sabre sword appeared in Lumina's hands (LLS Attack 1000-1700) then a white cat monster holding a hammer and having a clawed hand appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2100 Defence 300)

"My move" Mindy stated as she drew her next card "And I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards" Mindy drew two new cards "Now I play the spell card Photon Lead, now I can special summon a level 4 or lower light monster from my hand, and I choose my Trickstar Nightshade in attack mode" a small pink haired fairy appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 100 Defence 0) "Then I play Creature Swap which allows me swap my Nightshade for one of your monsters"

Neria sighed as she knew what Mindy was going as Nightshade was a weak monster "I choose Lumina" she stated and then Lumina and Nightshade swapped places

"And now I sacrifice both Lumina and my Trickstar Candina in order to summon Athena" Mindy added and then her monsters vanished and were replaced by a Goddess like monster with white, wearing a white robe and holding a sword and shield (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 800) "And now she will attack your Nightshade" Athena swung her sword and cut through Nightshade causing the little fairy to screech before shattering.

 **Neria: 4100  
Mindy: 7300**

"And now I will end my turn" Mindy finished

"My move" Neria claimed as she drew her card "And I'll start my turn by sacrificing Jain in order to summon Celestia Lightsworn Angel in attack mode" a blue haired angel with angel wings and holding a staff appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 200)

"Since you summoned a Fairy type, Athena's effect deals you 600 points of damage" Mindy stated and then Athena slashed Neria with her sword

 **Neria: 3500  
Mindy: 7300**

"Well you won't be able to do that for long" Neria stated "Because now I activate Celestia's effect, since I summoned her by tributing a Lightsworn, I can discard the top 4 cards of my deck and then I can destroy two cards on your deck, and I choose your Athena and Valhalla" Neria discarded 4 cards, one of which was Lyla Lightsworn Sorceress and another was her Judgement Dragon and then Celestia swung her staff and Athena and the spell card shattered "And now that your field is empty, Celestia and Wulf will attack you directly" Celestia sent a ball of magic from her staff while Wulf swung his Axe and threw Mindy back.

 **Neria: 3500  
Mindy: 2900**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Neria finished

Mindy narrowed her eyes as she drew her card and she smirked when she saw it "I play Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Mindy and Neria drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And since I have no monsters on my field, I can special summon Trickstar Calobane in attack mode" a fairy with long pink hair and wearing green robes appeared on the field wielding a large walking stick (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 1000) "And now I play Monster Reborn which allows me to summon back Athena from my grave" Athena returned from the grave and was ready for a fight.

"Why would Mindy summon those?" Faren asked "Sure Athena can take out one of Neria's monsters but the others aren't strong enough"

Mindy smirked "I won't need to worry about those monsters" she sneered "I play the spell card Lightning Vortex"

"Uh oh!" Kallian gasped

"Now by discarding one card from my hand, all your monsters are destroyed" Mindy stated and then a huge storm engulfed Neria's field and both Wulf and Celestia screamed before shattering.

"Oh no!" Daylen gasped "If Mindy attacks, it's over, Neria's life points can't survive these attacks"

Neria narrowed her eyes "You still have one monster to take on" she claimed "I play my facedown card, Glorious Illusion, now Celestia returns to the field" Celestia reappeared on the field.

"Well in that case, Athena, deals you damage since you summoned another Fairy and then she will attack Celestia." Mindy stated and then Athena swung her sword and destroyed Celestia.

 **Neria: 2600  
Mindy: 2900**

"And now Calobane will attack you directly as well" Mindy added and then Calobane sent a blast of magic which struck the field and created an explosion which blew Neria back who landed on the floor with a groan

 **Neria: 600  
Mindy: 2900**

"Neria!" Daylen gasped

"Oh no!" Aedan added "One more attack like that and this duel's is over"

Kallian looked at her friend "Neria get up, you need to get up so you can free Mindy and we can get closer to saving Solona"

Neria gave a few deep breaths and then she managed to push herself up "I'm not giving up!" she hissed "I can still do this"

"I doubt that!" Mindy sneered "I end my turn, now make your move"

Neria narrowed her eyes and then she drew her card and smiled at what it was "I play Monster Reincarnation, now I discard one card from my hand and then I can get my Judgement Dragon back to my hand which I discarded with Celestia's effect." The dragon returned to Neria's hand "And since I have at least 4 Lightsworns in my grave, I can summon her to the field" the large purple skinned dragon with red claws appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2600)

"All right, Neria's best monster!" Jaden cheered

"It's great but Neria can't activate her effect" Alexis stated

"Alexis is right" Aristide stated "Neria doesn't have enough life points"

Neria smirked "Not yet I don't" she stated "But I will now, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, so now I gain 1000 life points" Neria glowed as her life points increased

 **Neria: 1600  
Mindy: 2900**

"And now I sacrifice those life points to activate Judgement Dragon's effect" Neria added "Now every other card on the field is destroyed" Judgement Dragon glowed bright which got brighter and brighter and then there was a massive explosion of light and then Mindy's Monsters shattered

 **Neria: 600  
Mindy: 2900**

"And now your field is empty so now I'm free to attack" Neria smirked "Judgement Dragon, attack and end this duel" Judgement Dragon unleashed a blast of white fire which struck the field near Mindy and blew her back. Mindy screamed as she was blown backwards where she hit a wall and crumpled to the floor.

 **Neria: 600 (Winner)  
Mindy: 0000**

"Mindy!" Alexis yelled as she ran over to her friends "Are you okay?" Mindy girls said nothing

Sereda went over to Jasmine and shook her "I think both Jasmine and Mindy are unconscious from the duel and the mind control" she said "We need to get them to the hospital"

Alexis nodded and looked at the others "Sereda and I will take Jasmine and Mindy back to the hospital" she said "I wish I could stay but I have to make sure my friends are safe. Just make sure you come back with Solona"

"We will Alexis" Jaden said "We'll make sure that Solona is okay"

Kallian walked forward "I'll help you two with them" she said as she helped Alexis pick up Mindy "You two can't do this alone"

Alexis and Kallian carried Mindy while Sereda helped Jasmine out and she turned to her friends as she left the room "Hey, good luck you guys" she said and then she too left

When they were gone, Aristide looked at the remaining group "Well now we have to carry on now." He said "We're close to my daughter but we still have two Brainwashed students to face"

"And these two are tough duellists" Chazz stated "I know how skilled they are and they won't be easy"

"And Livius will probably have upgraded their decks like he did with Jasmine and Mindy" Aedan added

"Well what are we waiting for, let's get going" Jaden stated and the others agreed

 **Chapter end:**

 **Another chapter down and this will be the last time I use Trickstars since they're a Link deck mainly and I just struggle to write duels with them. I was originally going to have Sereda duel Mindy but decided on Mindy since it was an easier duel to write. The next chapter should be easier to write but will also have 2 duels. And there is one other thing, after I have finished the next two chapters, I will be taking a short break from this story because I plan to write some of my Rise of the Divines story and finish season two so I have two chapters left in this story to write before I take a break but the story will not be abandoned.**

 **Created card:**

Djinn Evolver of Rituals: Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1500  
when you Ritual summon a monster, you can banish this card from the grave as one of the Ritual materials. If you use this monster as a Ritual Material, then that monster gains 1000 attack points.


	8. Old Friends

**Old Friends:**

Solona Amell groaned as she woke up. When she managed to open her eyes, she realised that she could hardly move at all. When her vision cleared, she saw that she was in some kind of cage with magical purple bars and the roof was too low for her to stand up. The best she could do was kneel. She also looked around the room to see that she was in the room where Alexis had duelled Titan when he was a Shadow Rider and then noticed the people behind her kidnapping. Livius Erimond along with Crassius Servis stood next to some kind of shrine with a projection being shown. Livius banged his hand hard on the shrine in frustration.

"Pathetic!" he spat "Even with those upgraded decks, those girls were rubbish and a waste of time"

"They have served their purpose" Servis stated "And we still have two more people in their way. They were already skilled but it never hurts to be prepared"

"Smart" Livius sneered and it was at that point that he noticed that Solona was awake "Oh, I see that you're awake now, don't think you're going to get free, you're in no position to move"

Solona narrowed her eyes "I'm only in this position because you cheated in our duel!" she snapped "And from what I've just heard, it seems that my friends know that I'm here. Soon they will come for me and your plan will fail"

Livius laughed "But will they be here before the time is up?" he laughed "It won't be long before the portal is ready and then I will take you to my master and he has plans for you"

Solona narrowed her eyes but deep down, she was a bit scared as she knew what the Venatori had done to her father so what could they do to her. 'Brother' she though 'please hurry, I need you here, just please get here before that portal is ready'

...

Daylen and the others walked down the tunnel in order to find Solona. The group included Aedan, Theorn, Neria, Faren, Jaden, Chazz and Aristide. Dorian had returned with Missy while Alexis, Sereda and Kallian had taken Jasmine and Mindy over to the Infirmary.

"This is the tunnel that took us to that room where I duelled Titan when he was a fake Shadow duellist" Jaden stated "If Solona is here then that's where she'll be."

"I hope so" Daylen stated "But remember, we still have more minions to face"

"Raizou and Torimaki" Chazz confirmed "My old pals from Obelisk Blue though I will never hang out with them no. I'm no longer the bully like they are."

Theorn looked worried "I just hope that if we have to duel them that the duels don't take long" he stated "Each time we duel we lose time to get to Solona and if these duels take too long then by the time we reach Livius, it may already be too late."

"Let's just hope that it doesn't come to that" Aedan sighed but everyone could see that he too was worried. They all were worried about Solona now.

Soon Aristide saw that their path was blocked by a cave in "Great, we can't go along this tunnel now"

"But this is the only way through" Faren sighed "How are we suppose to get to Solona now"

Aedan looked around and found a small tunnel that they would have to crawl through "I see another tunnel through this gap" he told the others

Aristide looked at the tunnel "I just hope that this new tunnel leads to my daughter" he sighed "We don't have time to search through every tunnel"

It took time but everyone was through the gap and into the new tunnel. Then they carried on down the tunnel to try and find Solona but soon they found themselves in a new room.

"I don't remember seeing this room before" Jaden stated, the room was completely empty, unlike other rooms, there was no covered up furniture or anything of interest in the room but there was another tunnel at the other side of the room. But the room was blocked by two figures. They couldn't see them clearly but when Aedan shone his torch near them, he recognised them.

"Torimaki, Raizou" he hissed "I think we must be on the right track"

Torimaki stepped forward "You shall not pass" he stated "Master Livius is busy and must not be disturbed"

"We will duel in order to prevent you from passing" Raizou added

Chazz sighed "It seems that we must duel them to get past"

"Well get your game on" Jaden stated and then he stepped forward only to be blocked by Chazz

"I still have an old score to settle with these two" Chazz hissed "After you beat me at the Promotion Duels, these two just abandoned me, I never forgot about that and they thought they were better than me. Well it's time to prove them wrong"

"Chazz the slacker!" Torimaki laughed "You lost to a Slifer and now you have become one, this duel will be easy"

Chazz narrowed his eyes "I learnt some things when I was in the Slifer Dorm, I may not like the Dorm but the students there taught me something, and that it that friends stick together. You two just abandoned me when I needed you so I think it's time for some payback."

"Fine by me" Torimaki laughed and then the two of them activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Chazz: 8000  
Torimaki: 8000**

"Since you've become a Slifer Slacker, you don't deserve to go first" Torimaki sneered as he drew his 6th card "And I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode" a large beautiful golden scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2000 Defence 100) "And then I will end my turn"

"That's it?" Chazz laughed "You summon a powerful monster and you have no backup, that's not how you duel"

Torimaki narrowed his eyes "Shut up you slacker and make your move"

Chazz chuckled "As you wish" he said as he drew his next card "I'll star by playing the spell card Frontline Base, now I can summon a Light Union monster from my hand, and I choose my V Tiger Jet in attack mode" a machine that looked like a yellow jet plane with a tiger head and green wings appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1800) "And now I normal summon W Wing Catapult in attack mode" a blue jet platform appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1300 Defence 1500)

Torimaki laughed "What are you going to do with them?" he laughed "They can't defeat my dragon"

"Not by themselves they can't" Chazz confirmed "But together they can, as Union monsters, they fuse without Polymerization so now I combine V and W together in order to form VW-Tiger Catapult" Tiger Jet folded in his wings and then sat on top of Catapult to make one monster (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 2100)

Neria looked at Chazz's monster "But if Chazz attacks, both monsters will be destroyed"

Chazz smirked "No they won't" he stated "I activate my Tiger Catapult's effect, by discarding one card from my hand and it changed your dragon to defence mode" Chazz discarded his Armed Dragon level 3 and then VW fired a blast of Lightning which forced Alexandrite dragon to kneel "And now my VW can attack that dragon" VW fired a blast of lightning which struck the dragon causing the dragon to roar before exploding "And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown"

Torimaki narrowed his eyes "Pure luck!" he spat "That's all that was, pure luck, I'll show you how a real duellist duels, I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Lord of D and Divine Dragon Ragnarok in my hand"

"Uh oh" Jaden gasped "I know what's coming next"

Daylen agreed "Those two monsters together fuse together to create a powerful fusion monster" he stated

"King Dragun" Torimaki revealed as a long snake like dragon with god like body appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2400 Defence 1100) "And as long as he's on the field, you cannot target dragon type monsters by card effects, now I use my Dragun's effect which allows me to summon Mirage Dragon" another snake like dragon with green hair appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 600) "And now Dragun attack that Catapult" King Dragun fired a blast of lightning from his mouth which engulfed VW and shocked the catapult so much that it caused the catapult to overpower and then explode

 **Chazz: 7600  
Torimaki: 8000**

"And now my Mirage Dragon will attack you directly" Torimaki added "And don't even think about activating that facedown because thanks to my Dragon's effect, you can't activate traps during the Battle phase" Mirage sent a blast which threw Chazz back

 **Chazz: 6000  
Torimaki: 8000**

"Oh man" Jaden groaned "Chazz just took a big hit and he hardly has any cards in his hand"

"Let's just hope that he can do something" Neria sighed "Because if he doesn't, then he may lose and he only has one card in his hand"

Chazz narrowed his eyes "Now that your battle phase is over, I can activate call of the Haunted, this allows me to summon a monster from my grave, and I picked my Armed Dragon Level 3 which I discarded with my Tiger Catapult's effect" a small orange and grey dragon appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 900)

Torimaki snorted "I end my turn now make your move"

"Oh I will" Chazz hissed as he drew his card "And first of all, I will activate my Armed Dragon's second ability which allows me to level him up to Level 5" Armed Dragon level 3 was engulfed in light and then a larger red and brown scaled dragon with spikes over its body appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2400 Defence 1700) "And now I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode" a yellow and blue machine with cannons on its shoulders and a spiky ball on the bottom appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1500)

Torimaki chuckled "Too bad you can't summon another with your Frontline base" he laughed "From the look on your face, it seems that that card is not a Union monster"

"No" Chazz confirmed "But it can help me get one, I play Card of Demise, so now I draw until I hold 5 cards but in 5 turns, I have to discard my entire hand" Chazz drew 5 cards since his hand was empty and smirked "And would you look at that, I can use my Frontline base to summon Y dragon head in attack mode" a red metal dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1600) "And now I activate the spell card Banner of Courage, this card my monsters to gain 200 attack points when they attack"

"Great" Aedan cheered "That means that he can beat King Dragun" without risking himself

"Armed Dragon attack King Dragun" Chazz ordered and Armed Dragon's fist glowed and he sent a ball rolling along the field which smashed into King Dragun and destroyed him, Armed Dragon was safe thanks to Banner of Courage.

 **Chazz: 6000  
Torimaki: 7800**

"And now X Head Cannon will attack Mirage Dragon" Chazz added and the Cannon fired a shot from his cannons which shot through Mirage Dragon and destroyed him

 **Chazz: 6000  
Torimaki: 7400**

"And finally Y Dragon Head attack him directly" Chazz ordered and the mechanical dragon zapped through Torimaki throwing him back.

 **Chazz: 6000  
Torimaki: 5900**

"And now I will end my turn which activates the effect of my Armed Dragon, allowing me to level him up to Level 7" Chazz finished and then Armed Dragon was engulfed in light and a larger dragon with shiny scaled and large blades on his body appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2800 Defence

"All right" Jaden cheered "Chazz took out King Dragun"

"Which will make it harder for Torimaki to summon powerful dragon monsters" Aristide smiled

But Torimaki laughed "I couldn't help but overhear what your friends said" he stated "They're wrong, there are other ways to summon powerful monsters, such as with this, Monster Reborn"

"Not that card" Jaden gasped

"Now my King returns" Torimaki laughed as the King returned to the field "And with his effect, I can summon Darkstorm dragon" a large grey dragon with the lower body made of a storm appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2700 Defence 2500) "And now, I will equip Darkstorm with Dragon's Treasure which gives him an extra 300 attack points" Darkstorm glowed as his body glowed "Now attack that Armed Dragon" Darkstorm opened his mouth and a large storm burst from his mouth which blew Armed Dragon around and destroyed him

 **Chazz: 5800  
Torimaki: 5900**

"And now, my King will destroy Y Dragon Head" Torimaki added and King Dragon fired lightning which struck the metal dragon causing the dragon to overpower then explode

 **Chazz: 4900  
Torimaki: 5900**

"And now I will end my turn" Torimaki finished

"Oh man" Daylen groaned "Now that King is back, Chazz can't use his monster's effects to destroy them thanks to King Dragun"

"Let's just hope that Chazz has another way" Aedan sighed

Chazz drew his card and smiled 'Perfect, just what I need' he thought "I play Graceful Charity, now I draw three cards as long as I discard two" Chazz drew three cards and discarded two of them "First I will discard my Heavy Mech Support Armour along with Ojamagic. And with that, I can add Ojamas Black, Green and Yellow to my hand" Chazz added the three Ojama brothers to his hand and as soon as he did, their spirits appeared next to him

" **Need help boss"** Yellow asked

" **Yeah, seems you are in need of back up"** Green agreed

" **And we're ready to help"** Black stated

Torimaki laughed "What good are those three weaklings going to do?" he questioned "Those three are weak monsters and have no place in a deck"

"Well these three monsters are played right, they are a force to be reckoned with" Chazz smirked "And I'll show it by playing this, Ojama Ride, now by discarding the three brothers, I can summon 3 Union monsters from my deck." The three Ojamas screamed as they were sucked into the graveyard and then three machines appeared on the field. First an orange tank with a large cannon that blasted lightning (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 200) then a green mechanical dragon with large cannons on its back (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1800) and finally a blue winged mechanical dinosaur with rocket launchers on its legs (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 2000) "Meet A Assault Core, B Buster Drake and C Crush Wyvern. And now I'll summon Z Metal Tank in attack mode" a yellow tank appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1300)

"Five monsters?" Jaden stated "That's sweet"

"But what's the point?" Neria wondered "It doesn't matter how many monsters Chazz has, they still don't beat those dragons"

"Not by themselves they can't" Chazz smirked "Now I banish A B and C to merge them together and form ABC Dragon Buster." The three machines dismantled themselves and then combined, B's wings attached to A's tracks and then the rest of B's body attacked to the side of A's cannon. C's wings attached themselves to the entire machine while the rest attacked to the other side of the cannon. B's two large cannons were on each of B and C's bodies along with C's rocket launchers to create one large machine (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2800) "And now X and Z will merge together to form XZ Tank Cannon" X attached itself to the top of Z to form one machine (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 2100) "And thanks to Banner of Courage, my monsters will be stronger than your monsters. Now ABC attack Darkstorm" ABC unleashed a powerful blast of lightning from the cannon which electrocuted Darkstorm and destroyed him

 **Chazz: 4900  
Torimaki: 5700**

"And XZ, destroy King Dragun" Chazz ordered and then the Tank cannon fired a blast from its cannons and destroyed the dragon

 **Chazz: 4900  
Torimaki: 5500**

And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Chazz finished

"Chazz has taken out King Dragun for a second time" Neria stated "Let's hope that he doesn't have to face that King a third time"

"We'll just have to see what happens" Aedan stated

Torimaki narrowed his eyes as he drew his card and when he saw it, it made him smirk "I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Torimaki drew two cards from his deck "And now I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Buster Blader along with Darkblaze dragon in my hand which allows me to summon the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman." A tall white, blue and yellow armoured swordsman with a very large blade appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2500) "And he has an ability, he gains 1000 attack points for every dragon in your graveyard so thanks to your 3 Armoured Dragons he gains 3000 attack points" The Sword glowed as it gained the power of Chazz's 3 dragons (BBTDDS Attack 2800-5800) "And he also inflicts piercing damage" he added which made Chazz's friends gasp

"Great, now Chazz could take a serious amount of damage" Jaden groaned

"And I'm not done yet" Torimaki smirked as he held a card in his hand "Your friend Solona loved this card" he turned it around which made everyone gasp in horror "With Dragon's Mirror, I fuse 5 dragons in my graveyard to summon Five Headed Dragon" a massive five headed dragon with each head made of a different element appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000)

"Oh no!" Neria gasped "This duel is over; Chazz won't be able to take on both those monsters with over 5000 attack points"

"Five Headed Dragon, attack that Tank Cannon" Torimaki ordered and then the five heads unleashed a blast of their element which combined into 1 massive blast

"I activate my facedown" Chazz countered "The Quick play spell Shrink which halves the attack points of your monster" The blast grew smaller (FHD Attack 5000-2500) 'It seems I will have to take a big risk, but at least my field won't be empty "And I also activate the quick effect of Dragon Buster, by banishing him, 3 of my Union monsters return, A and B in defence and A in attack mode" then the blast struck XZ and destroyed him

 **Chazz: 4800  
Torimaki: 5500**

"Well, my Buster Blader will attack that Buster Drake and you will still take damage even though it's in defence mode" Torimaki ordered and then Buster Blader charged forward and sliced the wings of the mechanical dragon off which then exploded and the explosion threw Chazz back who groaned as he landed on his stomach as he rolled over

 **Chazz: 800  
Torimaki: 5500**

"And now I will end my turn" Torimaki finished "Now make your last move because next time, I will end you"

"He's right" Neria groaned "Chazz barely has any life points left and Torimaki has over 5000 plus two powerful monsters. And those monsters won't do much to help him"

Jaden groaned "Get up Chazz, you can do it"

Chazz slowly pushed himself up "I used to be like you!" he spat "A bully who only cared about himself but now I've changed and I will not give up" he then drew his card "And just like you, I too will play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw 2 more cards" Chazz drew two cards from his deck "And now I will combine A and C together in order to create AC Assuault Wyvern" C's winge attached to the side of A's laser and the body to the front of the laser itself while the rocket launchers were place onto A's base (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 2000) "And now I will play the spell card Union Dismantle, now I remove one Union Fusion monster from my grave from play then summon the monsters needed to summon it that have been banished, so I choose to remove XZ Tank Cannon and summon X Head Cannon and Z metal tank" the two monsters reappeared on the field "And now I play Monster Reborn which allows me to bring back my VW Tiger Catapult" the tiger jet on a platform appeared on the field "And finally, I'll summon another Y Dragon Head to the field" Another red metal dragon appeared on the field "And now I'll combine X Y and Z together in order to form XYZ Dragon Cannon" Y folded his wings in and sat on top of Z while X attached himself to the top of Y to form one machine (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2600) "And when he's on the field, once per turn, I can discard 1 card from my hand and destroy one monster on your field and I choose your Five Headed Dragon" Chazz discarded a card and then the cannons fired which struck the five headed dragon and destroyed him.

"Doesn't matter!" Torimaki hissed "I still have my Buster Blader"

"Not for long you don't" Chazz smirked "I now combine XYZ and VW to make the all might VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon" Z's legs detached and attached to X to make arms while X's head folded into his body. V discounted himself from W and formed the head of the machine by attaching to the top of X and the W split in 2 and formed legs which went onto Y creating one massive machine (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2800) "And once per turn, I can banish one monster on your field and I choose your Buster Blader" Torimaki gasped as his Buster Blader faded and then vanished leaving his field empty "And now VWXYZ, attack him directly" the large cannons fired which blew Torimaki back

 **Chazz: 800  
Torimaki: 2500**

"And I still have AC on my field" Chazz smirked "Now attack him directly and finish him" AC fired a laser which sent through the body and turned red thanks to Wyvern, then the blast struck the field which blew Torimaki back causing him to hit a wall

 **Chazz: 800 (Winner)  
Torimaki: 0000**

"All right" Jaden cheered "Chazz did it"

"He won" Neria smiled

But it wasn't over yet, not long after Torimaki had been defeated, Raizou took his place "You're not going any further until you have beaten me" he snarled

Jaden stepped forward "I normally duel for fun but my friend is in trouble" he hissed "And we can't afford to waste time so Get your game on!"

Raizou laughed "Jaden Yuki, the Slifer who thinks he's so tough" he sneered "He's never lost to anyone except for Zane" no one knew that Solona had beaten Jaden before as well when she dressed up as Maiden with the Eyes of Blue "And once I beat you, everyone will see just how weak and pathetic you are"

"We'll see about that" Jaden hissed as he activated his Duel disk and drew 5 cards

" **DUEL!"**

 **Jaden: 8000  
Raizou: 8000**

"Elite duellists first" Raizou sneered as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Vampire's Domain, now once per turn, I can sacrifice 500 life points and normal summon an addition Vampire monster. So now I will sacrifice 500 life points so I can summon twice, first I will throw a monster facedown and then I will summon Vampire Sorcerer in attack mode" Raizou tribute 500 life points and a monster appeared on his field facedown along with a green haired vampire wearing a pointy hat and holding a staff in the shape of a vampire bat (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1500)

 **Jaden: 8000  
Raizou: 7500**

"And now I will end my turn" Raizou finished

"My move" Jaden stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by summoning Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode" a blue aqua hero with water pistols appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 1200) "And since he's the only card I have out, I'm allowed to draw two cards from my deck" Jaden drew two cards and smiled when he saw that they were Polymerization and Bubble Blaster "And now I will activate one of them, Bubble Blaster which gives my Bubbleman an extra 800 attack points" a massive water like rocket launcher appeared which was placed over Bubbleman's shoulder (EHB Attack 800-1600) "And now he will take out that facedown monster" Bubbleman fired a blast from the rocket launcher which smashed into the facedown monster and destroyed him.

But Raizou smirked "That attack was a waste" he sneered "You destroyed my Vampire Baby and since you destroyed him in battle, at the end of the Battle phase, I can special summon him from the grave" a small ugly looking baby with a massive head bigger than the body appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 700 Defence 1000)

"Then I guess I will throw one card facedown and end my turn" Jaden finished as a facedown appeared on the field

"My move" Raizou sneered as he drew his card "And first I will sacrifice Vampire Baby in order to summon Vampire Dragon in attack mode" a small black dragon with an orange underbelly and with vampire fangs and one eye appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2400 Defence 0) "And then I use the effect of my Domain to tribute my Sorcerer to summon Vampire Duke in attack mode" a smart dressed man but with Vampire fangs appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 1200) "And I will use his effect to special summon one Vampire from my graveyard in defence mode so Sorcerer returns" The Sorcerer returned to the field kneeling down "And now Duke will attack your Bubbleman" Duke swiped his claws at Bubbleman but the monster stayed on the field

"Sorry but when Bubbleman is equipped with Bubble blaster, I take no damage, also the blaster gets destroyed" Jaden stated and then the Blaster shattered (EHB Attack 1600-800)

"Well my Dragon still has his attack, now destroy Bubbleman" Raizou hissed and then the dragon sent a blast of dark red fire which engulfed Bubbleman causing the hero to groan before shattering

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 7000**

"And there's more" Raizou stated "Since I just dealt you damage by a vampire monster, Vampire's Domain allows me to gain the same amount of Life Points" Raizou glowed as he gained more life points

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 8600**

"Well I have something too" Jaden stated "I activate my trap card, Hero Signal, since you just destroyed an Elemental Hero, I can summon another one from my deck and I choose Elemental Hero Avian" a winged bird with green and white feathers appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000)

Raizou snorted "That weak monster can't help you, I end my turn"

Jaden narrowed his eyes "My monster is not weak and I'll show you why, my draw" Jaden drew his card "And I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Avian on my field with Burstinatrix in my hand in order to summon, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman" the green and red hero with the dragon head as a hand appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2100 Defence 1200) "And while he may not be strong enough to take out that dragon, I can still take out that Duke, so attack with Skydiving Scorch" Flame Wingman zapped through the air and shot right through the Duke and destroyed him

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 8500**

"And Flame Wingman's effect activates, now you take damage equal to your Duke's attack points" Jaden smiled and then Flame Wingman blasted Raizou with his dragon hand

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 6500**

"And now I will end my turn by summoning Wroughtweiler in defence mode and throwing a card facedown" a small mechanical dog appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 800 Defence 1200) along with a facedown card

"My move" Raizou snarled "And you may have destroyed my Duke but my dragon is still ready to right, I may not be able to summon anything but I switch my Sorcerer to attack mode" the Sorcerer stood up and was ready to fight "Now Vampire Dragon, attack that Wingman" the dragon sent another blast towards Wingman

But Jaden had a trap "I play my facedown card, Hero Barrier, now since you attacked an Elemental Hero, I can negate the attack" a barrier blocked the blast causing it to vaporise.

Raizou narrowed his eyes "Well my Sorcerer can still take out that dog" Sorcerer fired a magical blast from his staff which struck Wroughtweiler and destroyed him

Jaden smiled "Since you just destroyed Wroughtweiler, his ability activates" he stated "It allows me to return Burstinatrix and Polymerization to my hand" the two cards appeared in Jaden's hand

"Well, I place one card facedown and end my turn" Raizou finished

"My turn" Jaden drew his card "First off, I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Jaden drew two cards from his deck "And I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Captain Gold in my hand, now I can discard him in order to add Skyscraper to the field, which I will now activate" Captain Gold was discarded and then the field changed into a city "And when this card is on the field, when an Elemental Hero attacks a stronger monster, it gains 1000 attack points. Now I summon Burstinatrix to the field" a red female Pyro warrior appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 800) "And now I play the spell card R-Righteous Justice from my hand"

"What does that card do?" Neria asked

"For every Elemental Hero on Jaden's field, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field" Aristide stated

"And with two on my field, your Vampire Domain and your facedown are destroyed" Jaden smiled as the two cards shattered with the facedown revealing to be Negate Attack "And now Flame Wingman, destroy that Dragon, and thanks to Skyscraper, he gains 1000 attack points" Flame Wingman glowed as he gained power (EHFW Attack 2100-3100) then he shot through the dragon and destroyed him

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 5800**

"And thanks to Flame Wingman's effect, you now take damage equal to your dragon's attack points" Jaden added and then Flame Wingman blasted Raizou with the dragon head

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 3400**

"And now Burstinatrix will attack your Sorcerer and like Wingman, she gains 1000 attack points" Jaden added as Burstinatrix gained power (EHB Attack 1200-2200) then she threw a fireball which struck the Sorcerer causing him to yell as the vampire burnt until there was nothing left but ashes.

 **Jaden: 6400  
Raizou: 2700**

"And now I will end my turn at that" Jaden finished

Raizou narrowed his eyes "You've been making a fool of Obelisks for too long!" he snarled "Well that ends now" he drew his card "And I play the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Jaden and Raizou drew until they had 6 cards in their hands "And your field spell won't last any longer, because I play one of my own, the Field Spell Infernalvania" the skyscrapers shattered and the field changed into a dark land with a castle on a hill in the background.

"Uh oh" Aedan groaned as he remembered this field spell during the fight against the Shadow Rider Camula "Now Raizou can destroy all monsters on the field"

"I can indeed" Raizou sneered "All I need to do is discard a zombie monster from my hand"

"That may be true" Chazz stated "But remember when you use that, you're not allowed to Normal summon or set this turn"

"Well I won't need to thanks to the cards in my hand" Raizou stated "Now I discard Vampire Lord in my hand to activate Infernalvania" the card vanished and then Flame Wingman and Burstinatrix shattered "And I may not be allowed to Normal Summon but I can use this, the spell card Book of Life, this allows me to resurrect my Vampire lord" a white haired man wearing smart clothing appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 1500) "But my book has to take life in order to give it, so now I will banish your Captain Gold so you can't use him again since he's your most powerful monster in your grave. And now I will remove Lord from play in order to summon Vampire Genesis" Vampire Lord was engulfed in light and a huge purple demon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2100) "And now that your field is empty, I can attack you directly" Vampire Genesis turned into a swarm of insects which flew towards Jaden and began biting him which made Jaden groan in pain and he collapsed to his knees

 **Jaden: 3400  
Raizou: 2700**

"And now I will end my turn with one facedown" Raizou finished

Jaden groaned as he pushed himself up and then he looked at his hand 'At least I have a good hand so I can summon some good monsters' he thought and then he drew his card and it was his Bladedge 'Bladedge, sweet, but it's too bad I can't summon him' but then his eyes saw another card 'or maybe I can' he then picked a card from his hand "I play the spell card E-Emergency Call, this card allows me to add an Elemental Hero to my hand and I choose Elemental Hero Necroshade"

"But what good is that going to do?" Neria questioned "Necroshade is level 5"

"You forget that I still have my Polymerization in my hand, now I use it to fuse Necroshade with Elemental Hero Flash in order to summon Elemental Hero Escuridao" the two monsters were fused to form a black armoured monster with spiky armour made of shadows (Level 8 Attack 2500 Defence 2000) "And she gains 100 attack points for every Elemental Hero in my graveyard so with 6 in my grave, he gains 600 attack points" a shadow formed around Escuridao as she gained power (EHE Attack 2500-3100) "And since I have Necroshade in my graveyard, I can summon an Elemental Hero without sacrificing so Bladedge also comes to the field" the golden armoured warrior with blades attached to his wrists appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 1800) "And finally, I play the spell card H-Heated Heart which gives Bladedge an extra 500 attack points" a large H appeared on Bladedge which made him gain more power (EHB Attack 2600-3100) "Now Bladedge, attack that Vampire with Slice and Dice attack" Bladedge swung his arms around which looked like they were ready to slice Vampire Genesis to pieces.

But Raizou was prepared "I play my trap card, Sakuretsu Armour, now your attacking monster is destroyed" a suit of black armour appeared on Bladedge which crushed him and then he shattered

"Well my Escuridao can still attack, and with another Elemental Hero in my grave, he gains another 100 attack points" Jaden added (EHE Attack 3100-3200) then Escuridao summoned an army of black shards which she pointed towards Genesis and then they were sent flying through the Vampire which caused the Vampire to moan and then explode

 **Jaden: 3400  
Raizou: 2500**

"And now I will play the spell card Mirage of Nightmare, now when it's your turn, I get to draw until I have four cards in my hand, but on my turn, I have to discard the same amount of cards I drew" Jaden stated "Now I place one card facedown and end my turn"

"My draw" Raizou stated

"And mine too thanks to Mirage" Jaden stated as he drew until he held four cards "And I don't need to discard any because I play Emergency Provisions so now I tribute my Mirage and gain 1000 life points" Mirage vanished into particles which were then absorbed by Jaden

 **Jaden: 4400  
Raizou: 2500**

Raizou sneered "You just got lucky with that. You are very lucky; I discard Vampire Grace from my hand in order to activate Infernalvania to destroy your monsters" Escuridao shattered leaving Jaden's field empty "And now I remove Vampire Grace and Vampire Duke in my graveyard from play, this allows me to summon the greatest vampire around. The one who rules over all other Vampires, I summon, Dracula Emperor of the Vampires" the field glowed and then a vampire wearing mystical robes and looking like he was a ruler appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 4000 Defence 4000)

"Oh boy" Jaden groaned "This is going to hurt"

"Oh it will" Raizou smirked "Attack him now" Dracula chanted in some ancient language and then a swarm of bats appeared on the field and then they flew and started biting Jaden all over. Jaden howled in pain and then Dracula himself swiped Jaden with clawed hands which threw him back and Jaden landed on the floor and groaned

 **Jaden: 400  
Raizou: 2500**

"Jaden!" all of his friends yelled

Raizou laughed "Look at that, the mighty Jaden Yuki is too weak to fight. Though it would be very difficult for anyone to defeat my Emperor, especially since all damage is dealt to you instead when you attack it so when you attack, you'll only be hurting yourself and he cannot be destroyed by spells traps or monster effects. Now make your move and be quick about it so I can finish you off"

Jaden groaned as he got up 'What am I going to do?' he thought to himself 'I have no monsters that can defeat that thing and even if I did, I'll only be hurting myself. How can I win this'

"Jaden, don't give up" Aedan called

"Yeah, remember, you never gave up when you faced the Sacred Beasts" Daylen reminded "Even when all seemed lost."

Jaden looked at his hand and saw a card in it 'This could help me win the duel but I can't activate it' he thought 'I don't have the requirements' but then he narrowed his eyes 'but I can't give up, I have to do this for Solona and if I draw the right card then I can win this' Jaden place his hand on his deck "My draw" Jaden drew the card and when he looked at it, he smiled "Sweet, just the card I needed, I play the spell Card O-Oversoul, this allows me to special summon an Elemental Hero Normal Monster from my graveyard, and I pick my Burstinatrix" Burstinatrix returned to the field

Raizou laughed "What good is that going to do? It's nowhere near my Dracula's power"

"She won't have to be" Jaden smirked "Because I have H-Heated Heart, E-Emergency Call, R-Righteous Justice and O-Oversoul in my graveyard, I can activate the spell card, Hero Flash. Now by removing them from play, I can summon a Normal Elemental Hero from my deck and I choose my Sparkman" the yellow and blue electric hero appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000)

"Big Deal" Raizou sneered "They cannot defeat my Emperor"

"They won't have to, he's not the target" Jaden stated "The target is you, thanks to Hero Flash all Elemental Hero Normal Monsters can attack you directly, so attack Sparkman" Sparkman fired a blast of lightning which shocked Raizou

 **Jaden: 400  
Raizou: 900**

"Now Burstinatrix, end this duel" Jaden finished and then Burstinatrix fired a fireball which blew Raizou back causing him to hit the wall and he fell right next to Torimaki

 **Jaden: 400 (Winner)  
Raizou: 0000**

"All right" Neria cheered

"He did it" Theorn smiled

Aedan and Chazz picked the two Obelisks up and leaned them against the wall "We don't have time to take them to the Infirmary, we'll take them when we've saved Solona" Aedan stated

"All right" Daylen stated "I think we're close now, there's just Servis left along with Livius"

Theorn looked at his feet "I'm just worried that if we have to face Servis as well then Livius may have already taken Solona"

"If we do face Livius then we will defeat him as fast as we can" Daylen stated "But let's go now, we're so close, I did not come all this way for nothing" then they all carried on running down the tunnel

...

Meanwhile, Solona smiled when she saw Chazz and Jaden defeat the two brainwashed Obelisk Blue students. They were so close now and soon they would arrive. She also smiled when she saw Livius' furious look "Idiots!" he spat "They had one job to do and they failed."

"Master" Servis shouted gaining Livius' attention "They will be here soon and the portal is not ready yet but it nearly is. One more duel should be enough to open the portal. I can go and hold them off while we open the portal"

Livius shook his head and smirked "If they're going to be here then it will be better. I would love to see their faces as their plan fails right in front of them. Let them come here, I will allow them to see their friend but then she will be coming with me"

Solona narrowed her eyes "My friends will defeat you!" she spat "The Venatori will not win"

Livius just smirked and placed his black duel disk on his hand "Let's see how well they deal with me and my Chaos dragon" he sneered

 **Chapter end:**

 **Note: Another chapter finished and one more chapter in this mini arc. I have a big surprise waiting in the next chapter and I wonder if anyone will figure out what's going to happen. I also made a change here, originally, I was going to have Aedan duel Raizou but changed it to Jaden as I have another duel planned for Aedan but not for Jaden.**

 **Created cards:**

Union Dismantle: Normal Spell card: Remove one Union Fusion monster in your grave from play, special summon the banished monsters needed to summon it.

AC Assault Wyvern: Level 6 Fusion Light Attribute Machine Type Attack 2500 Defence 2000. A Assault Core, C Crush Wyvern. This card can only be summoned from the extra deck by banishing the above monsters and cannot be summoned in other ways. This card is unaffected by traps and monster effects.

Dracula Emperor of the Vampires: Level 12 Dark Attribute Zombie Type Attack 4000 Defence 4000. This card can only be summoned by removing One Vampire Grace and Vampire Duke in your graveyard from play. This card cannot be destroyed by spells, traps or monster effects. When an opponent attacks this monster, all damage is dealt to your opponent.


	9. Venatori Showdown

**Venatori Showdown:**

Livius Erimond and Servis stood away from Solona so that she couldn't overhear what they were planning and reveal them to her brother.

"Are you sure about this master?" Servis asked "This is a big risk you're taking"

Livius smiled "If those pests are going to be here then I want to personally deal with them and then take the Girl right in front of them. They have no idea that no matter what happens, the portal will open and we will be going to the Venatori and the Elder One will reward us for delivering his prize and then we will be even closer to taking over the world, with all 7 Old God cards, we will be unstoppable." He then gave a wicked laugh which could be heard all over the room while Solona who was still in her cage narrowed her eyes and knew that soon this would be over and Livius would pay for what he did.

...

Meanwhile Daylen Amell walked along the tunnel along with his father Aristide and his friends Aedan, Chazz, Jaden, Neria, Faren and Theorn. Daylen had a feeling that they were close to finding Solona. Daylen kept giving deep breaths which didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Calm down Daylen" Aedan stated

"I can't Aedan" Daylen sighed "my sister is in danger and I would never forgive myself if something happens to her"

Theorn joined in "I'm sure Solona will be alright" he stated "We'll get her back and stop the Venatori"

"But this won't be over" Aristide sighed "Livius may be a high member of the Venatori but he is not the boss. If he fails then the Elder One will just send another person after Solona. If this isn't dealt with then it may not be safe for her to return next year and I'll have to keep her protected with the Seekers."

Jaden looked at him "You can count on my help to protect Solona" he said "Solona is my friend and no one messes with my friends"

"Well said Jaden" Faren smiled while Chazz gave a quiet smile.

Soon they all came to a large underground room which looked familiar to them "Hey I remember this place" Jaden stated "This is where I duelled Titan the first time I was here in the Abandoned Dorm"

"And it was where Alexis duelled Titan when he was a Shadow Rider" Chazz added "Though it's hard to see with all the smoke in the way" there was a cloud of black smoke which blocked the view of most of the room.

Then they gasped when they heard a wicked laugh "I see that you're all familiar with this place" the voice said "Well that won't help you now" they all looked and watched as Livius Erimond walked out of the smoke with his black duel disk attached to his arm "You will not stop my plans"

Daylen ignored what he said and narrowed his eyes at him "Where's my sister?" he demanded

Livius smirked and then the smoke cleared and Servis appeared standing next to the magically created purple cage and Solona was inside the cage kneeling as the cage was too small for her to stand. Servis seemed to be working on something next to the cage on what looked like an Alter "Solona!" Daylen yelled

Solona hadn't seen him before due to the smoke but now that the smoke was gone, she could see "Daylen!" she yelled

Livius laughed "What a reunion this is" he stated "Too bad that you won't get the chance to take her from me, my plans have already gone too far now to be stopped"

"Give Solona back right now or you'll be sorry!" Jaden yelled at him

Livius laughed "Why should I hand her over?" she questioned "And I'm not scared of a stupid boy who sleeps in classes" Jaden narrowed his eyes but ignored the insult.

"We've already beaten the people you brainwashed" Theorn snapped "We'll beat you too"

"Can you?" Livius sneered "Can you stand up to the power that the Elder One grants me?"

Solona knew what he was talking about "Brother, be careful, he has Chaos Emperor Dragon, Envoy of the Beginning"

Livius smirked "Your sister is correct" he said as he held up a card "I do indeed have the Chaos Emperor Dragon which my master gave to me. It came in handy to get what I needed. Too bad I can't use Urthemiel against you as I failed to defeat its owner"

That made Daylen gasped "Wait, what do you mean by that!" he demanded

Livius smirked "I never did have to defeat your sister, just capture her, when she came close to beating me, I played a special card and terminated the duel and knocked her out. We don't play fair, I get the job done"

"You coward!" Aedan hissed "You can't just go taking people like that!"

Livius smirked "I have a job to do and the girl will be taken to the Elder One" he stated

"Not if I stop you!" Daylen hissed as he stepped forward "I challenge you to a duel"

Livius smirked "By all means" he sneered "Beating you will also give me a bonus; I'll take Razikale with me and get a bigger reward. And I wonder how you will handle my dragon, your sister barely survived it" he placed the card into his deck

"And I wonder how you will deal with Razikale's power" Daylen stated as he took the Razikale card from the spare card pouch he had on his belt and placed it in his deck

Livius smirked as he activated his duel disk "When I beat you, your sister will be coming with me along with your Razikale and there won't be time for someone else to face me as the portal will be ready. Now let's do this!"

Daylen narrowed his eyes as he activated his duel disk and drew 5 cards

" **DUEL!"**

 **Daylen: 8000  
Livius: 8000**

"Good luck brother" Solona said to herself from the cage

"I'll take the first move" Daylen stated as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode" a spellcaster wearing black robes and holding a black rod of magic appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1700) "And then I will play the spell card Spell Absorption, now every time a spell card is played, I gain 500 life points, and since a spell card was played, I can add one spell counter to my Skilled Dark Magician" a stone on Skilled Dark Magician's staff started glowing (SDM SC 1) "Now I will place one card facedown and end my turn"

Livius smirked "My turn" he said as he drew his card "And I throw a monster facedown and then place two more cards facedown, that will do it for my turn"

"That's not much" Aedan questioned "What's going on?"

"I think Livius has a plan" Aristide stated "Let's hope that Daylen doesn't fall victim to any kind of trap"

"My move" Daylen stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by summoning Mathematician in attack mode" a short old man with a long white beard and teacher's hat appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 500) "And when he is summoned to the field, I can discard 1 level 4 monster from my deck to my graveyard." Daylen discarded his Magician's Valkyria "And now I play the spell card Monster Reborn, this allows me to summon one monster from my graveyard and I choose the monster I just discarded, Magician's Valkyria" a female spellcaster with long ginger hair wearing pink and blue spellcaster robes and a large hat appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1800) "And since a spell card was played, I gain 500 life points thanks to Spell Absorption and my Magician gains another spell counter" A second stone on Skilled Dark Magician's staff started glowing (SDM SC 2)

 **Daylen: 8500  
Livius: 8000**

"And now Mathematician, attack that facedown monster" Daylen ordered and then Mathematician swung around a stick and sent a blast of magic at the facedown card. However when the facedown monster flipped, it was revealed to be Renge Gatekeeper of Dark World which had 2100 attack points so the blast was sent back which struck Daylen causing him to groan

 **Daylen: 7900  
Livius: 8000**

Livius laughed "You weren't expecting that" he stated

Daylen groaned that he had fallen for that trick "I end my turn" he stated

Livius sneered "My turn" he then drew his card "And first I will play my facedown card Dust Tornado which allows me to destroy that Spell Absorption" a dust cloud blew away Daylen's spell card "And I will play the spell card Foolish Burial, now I can sent Silva Warlord of Dark World from my deck to the grave." Livius sent the card to his grave "And now I play the spell card Monster Reborn which allows me to summon him back from the grave" a dark skeleton fiend armed with a long dagger appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400) "And now I sacrifice Renge in order to summon Goldd Wu-Lord of Dark World" A golden skeleton fiend armed with a large axe appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1400) "And now Goldd will attack that Valkyria since it's the only monster I can attack" Goldd swung his axe and cut through Valkyria which made the spellcaster screech before shattering.

 **Daylen: 7200  
Livius: 8000**

"And now Silva will take out that Skilled Dark Magician" Livius added "Now you can't summon out that Dark Magician" Silva charged towards the Magician

But Daylen had a trap ready "I play my facedown card, Shift, now I can choose the attack target and I choose my Mathematician" Silva's dagger was buried into Mathematician's chest and then shattered

 **Daylen: 6400  
Livius: 8000**

"Why did Daylen do that?" Faren questioned "He's only dealt himself more damage"

Aristide smirked "Losing that Skilled Dark Magician would have put Daylen is trouble" he stated "So he lost more life points to keep his better monster which he can use to bring out his Dark Magician"

"And also, when Mathematician is destroyed in battle, Daylen can draw one card" Aedan added as Daylen drew a card

Livius narrowed his eyes "You got lucky there" he hissed "I end my turn"

Daylen drew his card and smirked "I hope you're ready to face my Dark Magician?" he questioned "Because he's about to appear, first I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards, but also since another spell card was played, Skilled Dark Magician gets another spell counter" Daylen drew 2 cards as a third light on Skilled Dark Magician's staff glowed (SDM SC 3) and then the magician started glowing "Now with three spell counters, I can sacrifice Skilled Dark Magician in order to summon the great Dark Magician" a beam of light shot up which covered Skilled Dark Magician and when the light died down, a tall purple robbed Spellcaster with a large staff appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 2100) "And with Dark Magician on the field, I can activate the spell card Apprentice Stone, now I can summon out my the apprentice of Dark Magician from my deck, the lovable Dark Magician Girl" the pink and blue robbed female spellcaster with blond hair appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 1700)

"Check it out" Jaden stated

"Daylen's got both Dark Magician and Dark Magician girl on his field" Chazz added

"But what's the point?" Faren questioned "Sure Dark Magician can take out one of those fiends but Dark Magician Girl is still not strong enough"

"But she will be with this" Daylen smirked "The equip spell Magic Formula, now my Dark Magician girl gains an extra 700 attack points" a large spell book appeared in Dark Magician girl's hands which she then opened and then she glowed as she gained power (DMG Attack 2000-2700) "Now Dark Magician girl, attack Silva with Dark Burning attack" Dark Magician swung her wand around and sent a red and black ball of magic at Silva which caused the skeleton fiend to catch fire and then crumble into dust

 **Daylen: 6400  
Livius: 7600**

"And I still have my Dark Magician" Daylen added "Attack Goldd with Dark Magic attack" Dark Magician swung his staff and sent a purple and black ball of magic which struck Goldd and the skeleton fiend crumbled into dust

 **Daylen: 6400  
Livius: 7500**

"And now I will end my turn" Daylen finished

Jaden smiled "Daylen may have less life points but he has two strong monsters" he said

"And that gives him the advantage" Aedan added

Livius narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card 'This boy is good but let's see if I can throw him into another trap' he thought "I place a monster facedown along with two cards facedown. That will do it for me"

'That's all?' Daylen thought 'the last time he did something like this; he drew me into a trap.' Daylen drew his card 'But it seems I have little choice "I summon Breaker the Magical warrior in attack mode" a knight wearing red armour and wielding a sword and shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000) "And since he was summoned, I can place a spell counter on his" the jewel on Breaker's shield started glowing (BTMW SP: 1) "But now I will sacrifice that counter in order to destroy one of those facedowns" the spell counter vanished and then Breaker sent a blast of lightning which destroyed one of Livius' facedown cards which was revealed to be Negate Attack "And now to avoid falling into a trap, Dark Magician will destroy that facedown monster with Dark Magic attack" Dark Magic sent another ball of magic which destroyed the facedown monster.

But Livius laughed sneered "You just destroyed my Scarr Scout of Dark World now I can add a level 4 or lower Dark World monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose my Infector, Infection of Dark World" he then added the card to his hand

"Uh oh" Solona said from her cage "That card's trouble"

Daylen heard her and wonder what she meant by that "What do you mean sis?" he questioned

"You'll see soon" Livius sneered "It's still your move, but first I'll play the quick play spell Mystical Space Typhoon which destroys your Magical Formula along with Dust Tornado which destroys your Spell Absorbance" the second facedown revealed itself and a typhoon blew the spell book from Dark Magician Girl's arms (DMG Attack 2700-2000)

Daylen smiled "Since you just destroyed Magical formula, its other effect activates, now I gain 1000 life points" the book appeared in ghostly form as Daylen glowed and gained more life points

 **Daylen: 7400  
Livius: 7500**

"And I still have two more attacks" Daylen added "Dark Magician Girl and Breaker, attack him directly" Breaker swung his sword while Dark Magician girl fired a blast of magic from her wand which struck Livius directly

 **Daylen: 7400  
Livius: 3800**

"Now I will end my turn there" Daylen finished

Livius narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card "I play the spell card Dark World Dealings, now we both discard a card and then we draw a new one" Daylen and Livius discarded a card then drew another "And your sister was right when she said that Infector was trouble, I used it against her, since it was sent to the grave, it is now equipped to your Dark Magician" a large black spider appeared and wrapped around Dark Magician who groan in pain "Now your Magician can't attack and you lose 500 life points on each of your turns"

"And on Daylen's third turn, Livius can tribute Daylen's monster in order to summon Shelog Spider King of Dark World" Solona stated from her cage

"True" Livius sneered "But there's more, the card I drew was Watapon so now I can summon him to the field" a small purple fur ball appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 200 Defence 300) "And now I sacrifice him in order to summon Lucent Netherlord of Dark World in attack mode" a tall armoured fiend appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 0) "Now Lucent, destroy Breaker the Magical Warrior" he ordered and Lucent charged forward and swiped Breaker with his claws which cut the monster into pieces.

 **Daylen: 6800  
Livius: 3800**

"And finally, I play the spell card Dark Room of Nightmare" Livius added "Now when you take damage from a card effect, you lose an extra 300 life points."

"That means that Daylen will lose 800 life points thanks to that Infector" Theorn stated

"My move" Daylen hissed as he drew his card

"And now you lose 800 life points" Livius sneered as Infector spat acid at him

 **Daylen: 6000  
Livius: 3800**

Daylen looked at his hand 'There's not much that I can do yet so I guess I will just have to boost my defence' he thought "I switch Dark Magician Girl to defence mode and then I will place a monster facedown along with a card facedown, then I will end my turn"

I guess Daylen hasn't got much that he can do right now" Aedan sighed

"Let's hope that he can so something soon" Neria added "Because if he doesn't then he will lose and then we will lose Solona as well"

Livius sneered "You can't do much but I can" he stated as he drew his next card "Like summoning this Snoww Unlight of Dark World" a light grey female fiend with tentacle like hair and wearing a white robe and holding a staff appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 0) "Now attack Snoww attack that facedown monster" Snoww fired a blast from her staff but the attack was blocked and then the card flipped over to reveal a blue skinned elf with long golden hair and wearing a green robe who started chanting and the attack went back and struck Livius

"You're not the only one who has high defence mode monsters" Daylen smirked "Mystical Elf has 2000 defence points which is more than your Snoww so now you lose 300 life points"

 **Daylen: 6000  
Livius: 3500**

"Well my Lucent can still attack and I will take out that Dark Magician girl since she's a bigger threat" Livius added as Lucent swiped Dark Magician girl and destroyed her "And now I will end my turn"

"My move" Daylen stated as he drew his card

"And remember, you lose another 800 life points" Livius added as Infector spat more acid at Daylen "And next turn, be ready to see the might of my Shelog"

 **Daylen: 5200  
Livius: 3500**

But Daylen smirked "Too bad your Infector won't be around for then" he smirked

"What do you mean?" Livius demanded

"You'll see when I play this spell card" Daylen stated "Dedication through Light and Darkness"

"All right!" Neria cheered

"You show him Daylen" Jaden added

"Now I sacrifice my Dark Magician with your Infector as well and evolve him into the Great Dark Magician of Chaos" Dark Magician was engulfed in a bright light which destroyed Infector and then a black robbed magician with thick black hair appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2600) "And now I sacrifice my Mystical Elf in order to summon Apprentice Illusion Magician in attack mode" Mystical Elf faded and was replaced by a spellcaster that looked similar to Dark Magician Girl but this one wore a dark purple robe and had darker blond hair (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 1700) "And since she was normal summoned, I can add another Dark Magician to my hand. And now Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Lucent with Sceptre Strike" Dark Magician of Chaos fired a ball of black magic from his staff which engulfed Lucent and destroyed him

 **Daylen: 5200  
Livius: 3100**

"And any monster destroyed by Dark Magician of Chaos is banished instead" Daylen added "And I still have one more attack, Apprentice Illusion Magician, destroy that Snoww" Apprentice Illusion Magician fired a blast from her wand which destroyed Snoww

 **Daylen: 5200  
Livius: 2800**

"And now I will end my turn" Daylen finished "Which means that my Dark Magician of Chaos' effect activates, now I can add my Pot of Greed in my deck to my hand" the spell card returned to Daylen's hand

"Daylen now has the advantage" Jaden smiled "If he duels right then he will win soon"

"He has more life points and the strongest monsters on the field" Aedan smiled

"But remember, Livius still has other cards in his deck" Theon added "Sure Daylen may have prevented him from summoning Shelog but there may be more powerful monsters in his deck"

Livius smirked "I sure do" he stated as he drew his card "And you're about to face it, but first I play the Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards" Livius drew two cards from his deck and one of them made him smiled "And I'm sure you know what this card does?" he showed him a card which made them all gasp in horror

"Not that card!" Neria yelled

"That's not good!" Jaden added

"Great!" Chazz groaned

"I discard a card in order to activate Lightning Vortex" Livius cackled as he discarded a card and then a huge thunderstorm appeared which sent lightning down on Daylen's field and destroyed both his spellcasters "And now I play the spell card Gateway to Dark World, this allows me to summon a Dark World monster in my grave and I choose the monster I discarded, Grapha Dragon Lord of Dark World" a large dragon like fiend appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2700 Defence 1800) "And now he will attack you directly" Grapha sent a burst of black fire which struck the fiend near Daylen and created a large explosion which blew Daylen back

 **Daylen: 2500  
Livius: 2800**

"Daylen!" Aedan yelled

"Brother!" Solona yelled from her cage as Daylen let out a few deep breaths

"And now I will end my turn" Livius finished "Now make your move because this duel will be over soon"

Daylen let out a few deep breaths and then he drew his card "Now I play the spell card Pot of Greed to draw two more cards" Daylen drew two cards and looked at them and one of them made him smiled "You're not the only one who can summon powerful creatures without a sacrifice" he smirked "I play the spell card Ancient Rules, now I can summon a Level 5 or higher Normal monster in my hand and I have another Dark Magician in my hand thanks to my Apprentice Illusion Magician" another Dark Magician appeared on the field

"So what!" Livius snorted "That card can't do me any harm"

"Not right now he can't" Daylen smirked "But when I equip him with the spell card Wonder Wand, he will be strong enough because it gives him an extra 500 attack points" Dark Magician's staff turned into a wand that was carved from wood with a skull design on with a glowing green orb at the end (DM Attack 2500-3000) "Now Dark Magician, attack Grapha with Dark Magic attack" Dark Magician sent a green ball of magic from his staff which struck Grapha and caused the dragon fiend to explode

 **Daylen: 2500  
Livius: 2500**

"And now I will end my turn" Daylen finished

Livius drew his card and then he let out a loud laugh "This duel is over and now your Razikale along with your sister belong to the Elder One now"

"And why would they belong to this Elder One now then?" Theon demanded

Livius cackled "Because I have this card" he stated as he showed them a card which made everyone gasp

"Oh no!" Aedan gasped "Daylen can't withstand that card"

"I remove my Watapon and a Dark World Monster in my graveyard from play" Livius sneered "Now I conjure the forces of Chaos and summon a monster that's full of chaos and will lead to your demise, I summon Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End" a powerful storm shook the field and then a large blue and silver scaled dragon with orange hair appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And now I activate the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Daylen and Livius drew until they held six cards but Daylen knew that there was nothing he could do, until he saw one of the cards that he drew. "And now I activate my Chaos Dragon's special ability, now by paying 1000 life points, all cards in our hands and fields are destroyed, and you lose 300 life points for each" Chaos Emperor Dragon glowed as he looked like he was ready to self destruct "With my dragon along with your field and our hands, that makes 15 cards so that's 4500 points of damage"

"He's through!" Aedan yelled in horror "Daylen can't survive that!"

"It's over" Livius sneered "Your Razikale, your sister and her Urthemiel belong to the Venatori now. Say goodbye" But then just as the dragon was about to explode, the glowing stopped and Daylen smirked

"I should thank you" Daylen smirked "One of the cards I drew was a monster known as Clear Kuriboh, now I can negate the effect of your dragon" a small purple Kuriboh appeared on the field and prevented the Dragon from exploding "And you still lose 1000 life points since that's a cost"

 **Daylen: 2500  
Livius: 1500**

Livius narrowed his eyes "Well I still have other ways to win" he hissed "I play Graceful Charity which allows me to draw three cards and discard two of them" Livius drew three cards and then discarded two of them "And now I activate the effect of one of the monsters I discarded, by removing two Dark World Monsters in my grave from play, I can summon Colourless, Chaos King of Dark World in attack mode" Livius removed Silva and Goldd from his grave and then a massive black fiend that sat on a throne and wore a large black crown appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 4000 Defence 4000) "And now I play his effect, now I can half the attack points of your Dark Magician"

"What!" Daylen yelled as he saw his Magician's purple colour fading (DM Attack 3000-1500) "You may have survived my Chaos dragon's ability, but you won't survive this attack, Colourless, destroy that Magician and the rest of his life points" Colourless stood up from his throne and then he swung his black bone sword and slashed Dark Magician and then there was an explosion which covered the field "Finally" Livius smiled "Your Razikale is mine"

"Not yet it's not!" Daylen shouted and then the smoke cleared and revealed Daylen was still standing and had life points

 **Daylen: 1250  
Livius: 1500**

"What!" Livius yelled "How did you survive my attack?"

"Thanks to my facedown" Daylen smirked as he showed his trap card that he had place a few turns ago "Magician's defence halved the damage I took"

"All a waste" Livius sneered "I still have my Chaos Dragon to attack with" Chaos Dragon then sent a blast of white fire

But Daylen still had another trick to play "My Clear Kuriboh has another effect" he stated "Now by banishing it, I can draw one card and if it's a monster, I can summon it"

"This is it" Aristide sighed "If Daylen doesn't draw a monster then this duel is over and he'll lose"

"If he believes in his deck then he will get the card he needs" Jaden stated

"I hope you're right" Neria sighed

Daylen drew his card then closed his eyes. He couldn't look for fear that he drew a spell or trap card. Then he finally looked at it and sighed in relief "It's a monster" he stated "Now another Magician's Valkyria appears on the field" Then Chaos' attack struck that monster and created a massive explosion which blew Daylen onto his back where he then struggled to get up

"You got lucky there" Livius hissed "But it won't last. Now make your move but why bother, maybe you should just give up now"

"Don't listen to him Daylen" Solona yelled from her cage "You haven't given up yet so why should you. You need to believe in yourself and think about the consequences, if the Venatori get both Razikale and Urthemiel, then they'll only need one more Old God Card and then they'll have all 7 and have the power to take over the world. Millions of people will be at risk"

Daylen slowly managed to push himself up "My sister is right" he stated "I won't give up, not when millions of lives are at risk"

"Those people are a waste" Livius sneered "The strong will rise above the weak"

"They're people, not pests!" Daylen yelled as he drew his card and it made him smile "It seems that you're going to see the real power that I can use"

"What do you mean by that?" Livius spat "You'll see, first I play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, now I can destroy my Magician's Defence, this allows me to summon a spellcaster in my graveyard and I choose my Dark Magician" Dark Magician returned to the field "And now I summon Double Coston" two small black ghosts connected by red goo appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1650)

"But what are they going to do?" Neria questioned "They can't take out Livius' monsters"

But then Aedan remembered something "Wait, I think I know what he's doing" he stated "Double Coston counts as 2 sacrifices for a Dark Monster."

"Now I play the spell card Double Summon" Daylen added "This allows me to summon twice and now I'll sacrifice Double Coston and Dark Magician"

"That counts as three tributes for a Dark monster" Theorn stated and then he gasped "Is he going to summon her"

A huge storm covered the field and there were loud bangs of Thunder "Cloaked in Mystery and filled with Ancient Power, I call upon the power of the ancient gods. I summon Razikale Old God of Mystery" The clouds formed a large purple scaled dragon that was the largest dragon and was much bigger than the Chaos Emperor Dragon. (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000)

"It is!" Aedan yelled "Daylen brought out his Old God card"

Razikale gave a loud roar which made everyone except Daylen cover their ears "And now I activate the effect of Razikale, once per turn I can half the attack points of one of your monsters and then Razikale gains them until the end of the turn"

"What!" Livius yelled "No, this cannot be" His Colourless grew smaller as he lost some of his power which was absorbed by Razikale (CCKODW Attack 4000-2000) (ROGOM Attack 5000-7000)

"Now Razikale, end this duel, destroy Colourless and end this duel!" Daylen ordered as Razikale sent a massive blast towards Livius' field

"Go Daylen!" Solona yelled from her cage

"Nooooooo!" Livius screeched as the blast shook the field and destroyed his Colourless then his Chaos faded as he lost the rest of his life points.

 **Daylen: 1250 (Winner)  
Livius: 0000**

Livius fell to his knees as Daylen began walking over "I won the duel" he stated "Now release my sister"

Livius slowly stood up and sneered "And when did I say that?" he smirked "I don't do deals, this duel was the last thing I needed." He then walked back and threw his arms around like a madman "And now my portal has enough energy to take us all back to the Elder One. Thank you Daylen for giving me this energy." Livius turned to Servis "Activate the Portal Servis"

"Understood master" Servis replied and then he chanted some sort of chant and then a bright light covered the room which made everyone except Livius and Servis cover their eyes.

Aristide narrowed his eyes "You just don't know when to quit" he snarled

Livius laughed as the wind picked up "You've failed, soon your friend Solona will be at the side of the Elder One, we may have failed to get Razikale but once we get the final card, we'll be unstoppable"

Servis smiled but then noticed that something was wrong with the portal. The portal was a swirling blue vortex that was ready to transport them to the Venatori base. But then zaps of lightning appeared across the portal "Master, something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Livius demanded

Servis then saw that the portal was getting too powerful and could explode at any time "It's the portal, it's too powerful, we used too much energy. This portal could explode" but the portal didn't explode, instead it began sucking everything in, Servis cried out as he was dragged backwards and into the portal where he vanished. Livius gasped as he was pulled back with a violent tug and the he too vanished into the portal. Despite Solona being close to the portal, she was not affected and then the portal began collapsing on itself and then there was an explosion which blew everyone back and created a large dusk cloud.

Everything was quiet for a time and then Aristide managed to push himself up "Is everyone alright?" he called

"I'm fine" Jaden stated as he pushed himself up

"I'm fine" Chazz groaned as he rubbed the back of his head

"We're okay" Aedan sighed as he helped Theorn and Neria while Chazz helped Faren

Daylen eventually managed to push himself up and then gasped in horror when he saw his sister lying on the ground. The purple cage had vanished and dropped her on the floor where she lay on her stomach "Sister!" he yelled as he ran up to her and rolled her onto her back "Wake us sis, are you alright, please say something"

Solona slowly opened her eyes "Daylen?" she questioned softly "Is it over"

Aristide walked over to his children "It's over for now Solona" he said "The portal overpowered and now they're gone"

"So where have they gone?" Jaden asked

"I have no idea" Aristide admitted "They must have gone back to where the Venatori are based. And they left without their prize"

Daylen helped Solona to her feet but she struggled to stand since she had been cramped into that cage and had been unable to stand and so her back was sure "Are we safe?" she asked

"We are safe sis" Daylen replied "It's going to be okay sister."

Aristide sighed "I'm not so sure on that" he stated "This may not yet be over, the Venatori will probably return to try again Solona. So I'm not sure that we can enjoy the summer that we were hoping. We'll have to go into protection with the Seekers and if we can't stop the Venatori then you'll have to remain with them next year"

"You mean that I won't be able to come to Duel Academy next year?" Solona gasped in shock "That's not fair!"

"It's for your own protection Solona" Aristide sighed "I can't bear to think about what could happen if the Venatori capture you"

Solona looked sad, she had been looking forward to having her summer spent with her family and now it was ruined and worse she may not be able to return next year because she was still being hunted, she understood why she needed to be protected but she was still annoyed and upset.

"Don't worry Solona" Jaden smiled "If those Venatori cultists come back, we'll be ready to protect you"

"We sure will" Theorn smiled "We won't let them take you"

Solona smiled at her friends "Thank you" she stated "I apprentice the help" Solona smiled at her friends and they smiled back. But then all of a sudden, everything changed. The room filled with an eyrie blue glow which made everyone gasp.

"What the..." Jaden stuttered "What's going on?"

"What's happening?" Neria gasped "What is this blue glow?"

Aristide looked to see a blue orb forming nearby which then grew and he gasped in horror at what it was "It's that portal!" he shouted "It's reopening"

Then Solona let out a loud shriek as she felt something grab the back of her shirt and pull her out of her brother's arms with a strong tug.

"SISTER!" Daylen yelled in horror as he watched his sister get pulled away from her and towards the portal

"DAYLEN!" Solona shrieked as she was pulled back into the portal where she vanished in an instant.

"SISTER!" Daylen yelled again and then he ran towards the portal to help his sister

"DAYLEN NO!" Aristide yelled but he could not stop his son who ran towards the portal but then the portal collapsed on itself and closed just as Daylen reached it. Daylen jumped and tried to get into the portal to get his sister but all he hit was the ground of the room.

The room was silent and everyone looked around in horror and saw that Solona was indeed gone. There was no sign of her in the room "No, this can't be!" Theorn yelled

"Where did Solona go?" Jaden gasped

Daylen was on his knees as a few tears fell from her eyes "Sister! Where are you?" he yelled out but there was no replay "You can't be gone, you just can't" he then slammed his hands on the floor and let out a loud yell "SOLONA!"

Daylen's friends could only watch in shock and they knew that their worst fears had come true, Solona was gone.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Well another chapter finished and this ends the first mini arc in this story. The next chapter will take a long time because I'm taking a break from this story. I've decided to finish off the final two chapters in my Rise of the Divines Season 2 Arc and maybe a few chapters on The Wolf Awakens. I still need some deck ideas for characters set to appear in this story, mainly warrior and spellcasters but I will tell you a few that will be appearing, these are: Shaddoll, Ice Barrier, Noble Knight, Watt, Satellarknight and Seven Samurai, if you have any more ideas for decks, let me know.**

 **Created cards:**

Apprentice Stone: Normal spell card: If you control Dark Magician, special summon one Dark Magician Girl from your hand or deck.

Colourless Chaos King of Dark World: Level 12 Attack 4000 Defence 4000: If this card is sent from your hand to the graveyard, remove two Dark World Monsters in your grave from play and if you do, special summon this card. When this card is face up on the field, once per turn, half the attack points of one monster on your opponent's field


	10. How to open a portal:

**How to open a portal:**

In Duel Academy Infirmary, Alexis sat on a chair as she looked at her two friends Jasmine and Mindy who were lying on two beds and were still unconscious. Missy had been taken to another area so that she didn't cause trouble with the others when she woke up. Alexis was worried for her friends as they hadn't woken up.

"It's okay Alexis" Sereda stated "Jasmine and Mindy are probably just tired; they will need time to recover from this brainwashing"

"Missy as well" Kallian stated from nearby "I may not have liked her but no one deserved this"

The School Nurse Miss Fontaine walked over to them "Your friends will be fine" she stated, she was meant to have been getting ready to end for the year but had to stay behind to look after the people who had been placed in the Infirmary "They must be exhausted and they need some rest. And from what you told me, we'll have more coming here" Then just as she finished saying that, the door opened and then they all turned to see Aristide and Aedan enter the Infirmary carrying an unconscious Torimaki and Raizou "Oh my gosh, put them on the beds" the two of them then placed Torimaki and Raizou on two of the Infirmary beds "I think it's best just to let them get some rest, they've been through a lot"

Alexis looked at Aristide and Aedan and saw that they had some sad looks on their faced "Mr Amell?" Alexis questioned "Is everything alright?"

"What happened?" Kallian wondered "I thought that you would have returned with Solona"

Aedan sighed "That's what's wrong Kallian," he stated "Solona's gone"

Sereda widened her eyes "Wait, what do you mean gone?" she demanded "Don't tell me that the Venatori took her before you could rescue her?"

Aristide sighed "Not quite" he stated "We found Livius and then my son duelled and beat him, but he used Duelling energy to try and take Solona with him, his portal overpowered and dragged both him and Servis in. We thought that everything was alright but then the portal reopened and took Solona. Now she's gone and we have no idea where she is."

Alexis gasped in shock "No it can't be" she gasped "Solona can't be gone"

A tear fell from Aedan's eyes "I'm afraid it is true" he stated "When Aristide has calmed down he is going to contact Cassandra and see if she and the Seekers may be able to find where Solona is."

Kallian looked at Aedan "And how are the others taking this?" she asked

"Not good" Aedan claimed "We're all in shock as it happened right in front of our eyes and there was nothing we could do to stop it, it happened so fast. But Daylen is taking this the worst, he keeps blaming himself and Neria is unable to help him calm down."

Then the door opened again and they all looked to see Professor Dorian walk in "Maybe I can help with that" he stated, it seemed that he overheard everything "It might be best if we gathered in my office. I have an idea as to how we can find Solona. But I doubt many of you are going to like it"

Aedan looked at Dorian, Daylen would do anything to get his sister back but from the tone of Dorian's voice, it sounded like this idea he had might not be a great one but it was still worth it to figure it out. But it was Aristide who spoke up "I'll go get Daylen" he said "Since he is my son he might be more willing to talk to me"

Alexis stood up "Aedan and I will go and find the others" she said and then she left the Infirmary with Aedan while Aristide went off to find his son.

…

Out near the lake right near the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm, Daylen sat on the edge of the lake as he threw another stone in. There were still tears in his eyes and Neria was sitting next to him as she tried to calm him down "Daylen, you can't keep blaming yourself" she stated "This wasn't your fault"

"It is my fault!" Daylen snapped angrily but then his eyes soften "I'm sorry, I'm just so angry at myself. It's just… I should have down more to help her. She was my sister and now she's gone"

"Yeah but we know who's behind this" Neria claimed "The Venatori are behind this and if the Seekers can find their base then they'll find Solona. We found your dad even after he was kidnapped by the Venatori"

"Yeah but he had been missing for a few years" Daylen hissed "I can't have my sister missing for that long"

"We'll find her Daylen" Neria stated "I know that if we don't give up then we can find her"

Daylen gave her a small smiled before he wrapped his arms around him "Thanks Neria, you always know how to make me feel better" Neria just smiled and then the two of them wrapped their arms around each other and held each other close. The two of them then closed their eyes and pressed their foreheads against each other until they heard a chuckle

"I wasn't expecting the two of you to be doing that" the voice chuckled and Daylen turned to see his father with a smirk on his face.

Daylen jumped and pulled away from Neria with a blush on his face as did Neria. The two looked awkwardly at each other before Daylen glared at his father "That was not funny father!" he hissed "Do you know how embarrassing that was"

Aristide sighed "Sorry" he stated "I just came to find you, Professor Dorian wants to see us in his office, he says that he may have an idea on how to find Solona."

"He does?" Daylen questioned "What is it?"

"He hasn't said it yet" Aristide admitted "But he did say that he doubted any of us would like it"

"But if it can help us find Solona then it must be worth it" Neria stated

Aristide shook his head "I would like to hear the plan before I decide on what to do, I would hate to put anyone else in danger"

"But it can help us bring my sister back then we have to do it" Daylen claimed "We must!"

...

About an hour later, Daylen, his father and Neria joined Professor Dorian in his office. They were joined by Alexis and Aedan who had brought Sereda, Kallian, Jaden, Chazz and Theorn. While Dorian was not a senior member of staff since he wasn't head of a Dorm, he still had his own office since he was also an advisor for Duel Academy.

"So now that we're all here, what is this plan that you have?" Aristide asked

Dorian looked at them all "If the Venatori took Solona then we must find their base. And the only person who would know their base would be a member of the Venatori"

"And how are you going to get this information?" Chazz snorted "It's not like we can just ask these cultists"

"Well we still have a Captive member of the Venatori is custody" Dorian said after he sighed

It was then that Jaden realised who he was talking about "Hold up, you mean you want to ask Alexius, the man who hurt Solona with that Razikale card, how can we even trust him"

Dorian sighed "I did tell you that you weren't going to like it" he stated "But I can't think of anything else, Alexius is the only person who can give us information. He was only in the Venatori to try and save his son which failed as Felix is dead now. But he might give us the information we need to find Solona. But there is still the possibility that he doesn't know himself. He wasn't a high ranking member of the Venatori like Livius is"

Kallian looked down and then back at Dorian "But how can we trust him on what we ask him?" she questioned "How can we know if he's telling the truth"

Dorian sighed "That's the problem" he stated "We don't know if he is telling the truth but I have no other ideas of what we can do" he then looked at Aristide "It's your daughter that is missing so I think this decision is up to you. If you allow me then I can contact Cassandra and she'll bring Alexius here and he can tell us what we can do"

Aristide thought for a moment, he did not like the idea on calling a member of the Venatori to help find his daughter. But even he could see that there were no other options, it could take years to find her if they didn't so eventually he sighed and looked at Dorian "Make the call, but I want them to keep an eye on him at all times"

"I understand" Dorian stated and then he picked up his phone and began to dial the number he needed to contact Cassandra.

…

A few days later, a small plane flew over the ocean towards Duel Academy. The only cargo this plane was carrying was Cassandra along with two other men. One was a young man who wore the same black uniform as Cassandra and had short black hair. The other was the man known as Alexius who had duelled Solona in her expulsion duel. Alexius wore prisoner clothing instead of his smart robes. He also seemed to be looking sad, ever since his son had died; he hardly had said anything at all unless he was under interrogation.

"Remember Daniel" Cassandra said to the other Seeker "You are to keep an eye on this man at all times."

"I understand Cassandra" the man known as Daniel stated as he narrowed his eyes at Alexius "If he even tries anything funny then I will send him back in irons"

Alexius said nothing but just stared at the floor and sighed, he had no idea what was going on but he knew that something bad had happened.

...

Inside Duel Academy's main duelling arena, Solona's friends had gathered. These included Daylen, Aedan, Theorn, Sereda, Kallian, Faren, Neria, Chazz, Jaden and Alexis. Aristide was there as well but he sat nearby with young Avexis on his lap. After Solona had been captured, Aristide had vowed he would look after the young Avexis and protect her. Zane Truesdale was with them as well, after what happened at the Abandoned Dorm, Zane had decided to stay behind and help while Syrus had gone home. Chancellor Sheppard was also in the room along with Dr Crowler and Professor Dorian. This planned meeting could not take place in Sheppard's office as it was too small for such a big group.

"I don't like the idea of bringing that man back here after what he did" Crowler protested

"I don't like it either" Sheppard admitted "But I see little choice"

"I know" Dorian stated "But Alexius may be our only way of finding Solona and bringing her back safely"

"Campus security reported that the Helicopter landed and they are bringing them here now" Crowler said.

Then as Crowler finished saying this, the doors opened and a few Campus Security guards walked in along with Cassandra and Alexis along with Cassandra's apprentice Daniel.

"Cassandra, it's good to see you again." Aristide stated as he handed Avexis to Daylen and then went over and shook hands with Cassandra "It's been a while since we last met"

"It's good to see you working again Aristide" Cassandra smiled "Believe me, we will do our best to locating your daughter"

"Thank you Cassandra" Aristide admitted "She means a lot to me"

Dorian walked Alexius over to a seat where he sat his former mentor down "I trust you know why we have brought you here"

Alexius sighed "I couldn't save my son!" he hissed "Do you think my life matters to me now" there were tears in his eyes "What's the point, I have nothing to live for now"

"But you can help rebuild" Dorian stated "These Venatori cultists are evil and will take over the world, we need information Dorian, they've captured Solona and now have the Urthemiel card. We need to find their base so we can rescue Solona and recover the card"

Alexius sighed "I might as well tell you everything" he stated "But I doubt there is anything you can do to find this girl"

"And why is that?" Daylen demanded

Alexius sighed "I doubt you will believe me but you'll never find the Venatori because they're not even in this Dimension"

"In this Dimension?" Aedan questioned "What does that even mean?"

Alexius looked at them "I mean as in they're not even from this world. I couldn't find a cure for my son in this world so I looked elsewhere. There were theories that there were other worlds out there so I built a machine that would allow me to communicate with these worlds. And I managed to find one."

Chazz snorted "You're a big fat liar!" he snapped "There is no way that is true, that is just a load of rubbish"

Cassandra narrowed his eyes "Actually he is right" she stated "The Seekers believe that there are other Dimensions just like ours."

"My theory was that these Dimensions orbit something like planets around a sun." Alexius stated "So one time I was able to make contact with the closest Dimension to us. I was able to communicate with them and these people that I contacted said that they could help my son if I helped them"

"So I guess this is how you discovered the Venatori?" Dorian questioned

Alexius sighed "It is" he stated "I was desperate to save my son so I said I would do anything. I rarely ever went to this Dimension but the higher ranked members came to me several times. For them, travelling between Dimensions is easy since they have the power from the Elder One himself to do this. But for other people, it requires you to create a powerful portal"

Daylen looked at him "So if we can create this portal, we can go and save my sister"

Alexius sighed "Technically you can but I would not really recommend it"

"Why?" Aedan growled

"Because this world is very different from ours" Alexius claimed "Their world is built solely around duelling but it's not a game for them, it's a weapon. There are different factions there that use Duel Monsters to wage war against each other. If you go to this Dimension then you'll end up in the crossfire, the Venatori started a huge war between the factions to create chaos so they could take over that world."

"So they duel like us but use it for war?" Kallian questioned

"They do" Alexius stated "And that's not the only problem, they could only bring your friend Solona to that Dimension because currently our two Dimensions are close together in their orbit, but in a few weeks the Dimensions will be too far apart, if that happens while you're still there then you could be trapped."

"I don't care about the dangers!" Daylen snapped "My sister is trapped there and she would do it for me. I'm going to this Dimension."

"Not alone you're not" Neria stated "I'm going with you"

"Me too" Theorn stated

"And me as well" Aedan stated

Alexius sighed knowing that there was no way he could talk them out of this "Very well, if you insist. I can create a portal that can take you to this Dimension, will some duelling energy you can open the portal but unfortunately you won't be able to use that to come back."

"So how do we come back?" Neria questioned

Alexius sighed "You'll have to find the way the Venatori travel between Dimensions" he stated "And I wouldn't take too big of a group with you, too much energy and the portal will over power and suck you all in and send you to different parts of the Dimension."

"So it's the four of us" Daylen stated "Who else is coming"

"I'm coming too" Jaden stated

"Be careful Jaden" Alexis stated "This world is not a game like it is here"

"Don't worry Alexis" Jaden smiled "I'll be fine" Alexis and Jaden smiled at each other for a while

Then Chancellor Sheppard stood up "Now before I let you do this I'm sending a teacher with you. You need a responsible adult with you"

Aristide sighed "I would like to come along to help my daughter but I have Avexis to look after" he young Avexis was currently cuddling Aristide's chest after Daylen had given her back to him.

Sheppard looked at Dr Crowler "Crowler" he spoke up "You're our best duelling teacher here so you will go along and keep them safe"

Crowler struggled for words, while he was a skilled duellist he was a bit afraid "Why of course Chancellor" he stated "I'll do what I can to protect these students"

Some of them did notice that Crowler seemed afraid but then again, many of them were.

"And since I'm a champion here, they might need me as well" Zane stated

"Fine" Alexius stated "That makes seven of you. Now two of you will have to duel in order to create the energy but not too much."

"Then I would like to volunteer" Crowler stated "And I have the perfect duellist in mind to duel" he looked at Jaden "And that duellist is you Jaden Yuki"

"Me?" Jaden questioned as he pointed to himself

"Yes you" Crowler smirked "I've improved since we last duelled in your entrance exam, I got all cocky that time but this time I won't be. Let's see how good you really are against my deck."

"Well then, I say, Get your game on" Jaden smiled

...

Later, Jaden and Crowler were standing on the duelling arena as they shuffled each other's decks. Everyone else sat at the side watching.

"I know that this seems like a bad time but who do you think will win?" Kallian asked

"Jaden has beaten Crowler before but this time Crowler won't be as arrogant" Aedan stated

"Remember, this duel isn't about who wins or loses" Daylen claimed "It's to create energy to allow us to find my sister"

Jaden and Crowler then finished shuffling the decks and then they went to the edge where the activated their duel disks "Prepare for your next test" Crowler smirked

"I'm so ready for this" Jaden smirked and then the two of them activated their duel disks.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Jaden: 8000  
Crowler: 8000**

"Since I'm a teacher, I will go first" Crowler stated as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by playing an old favourite of mine. The continuous spell card Ancient Gear Castle." A large stone castle armed with cannons appeared behind Crowler "Now all my Ancient Gear monsters gain 300 attack points. And now I summon Ancient Gear Wyvern in attack mode" a large mechanical wyvern made from gears appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200)

"Well that's a new monster for Crowler" Sereda stated "I haven't seen him use that one before"

"Crowler isn't able to use all his monsters all the time" Zane stated

"And now that Wyvern is on the field, he gains 300 attack points thanks to my castle" Crowler smirked as Wyvern gained more power (AGW Attack 1700-2000) "Also Wyvern's effect activates, since he was summoned, I can add an Ancient Gear monster to my hand from my deck and I choose my Ancient Gear Knight" Crowler added the said card to his hand "But since Wyvern was summoned, I cannot set any cards this turn so I end my turn"

"My move" Jaden stated as he drew his card "And I'll throw one monster facedown as well as a card facedown. Then I will end my turn"

"That's not much of a move" Kallian stated

"Remember this is just the start of the duel" Aedan claimed

"I guess you're right" Kallian sighed

Crowler drew his card 'I know how Jaden duels, that facedown monster could easily be his Clayman which I could easily destroy if I summon my Ancient Gear Beast, but that facedown could be Hero Signal which my card effects won't stop. So I better pull a different move' he took a card in his hand "I summon Ancient Gear Knight in Attack mode" a large mechanical soldier armed with a large shield and a lance appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 500) "And thanks to my Castle, he too gains 300 attack points" The Knight's Lance grew longer (AGK Attack 1800-2100) "And now my Knight will destroy your facedown monster" The Knight's lance pierced the facedown card which was revealed to by Clayman, confirming Crowler's suspicions.

"You may have destroyed my Clayman, but I still have my facedown card" Jaden stated "Hero Signal, now I can summon an Elemental Hero from my deck since you just destroyed a monster, and I choose my Avian in defence mode" the small green feathered Hero appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000)

"Well my Wyvern can still attack" Crowler stated and then the Wyvern shot through Avian and destroyed him "And now I will end my turn by throwing two cards facedown"

"My move" Jaden claimed as he drew his next card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Jaden drew two cards from his deck which made him smirk "Next I play the spell card Warrior Returning Alive, now Avian returns to my hand. But he won't be in my hand for long because now I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Avian along with Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand."

Crowler cringed 'He's going to summon that Wingman, the monster that defeated me before'

But this time, Crowler was wrong "Now I fusion summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado in attack mode" Jaden stated as a green and yellow armoured warrior with wind turbines on his hands and a green cape appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2200)

"That monster's even more powerful than my monsters" Crowler gasped as now it was worse than what he thought

"And it gets worse" Jaden smirked "Since Great Tornado was fusion summoned, his effect activates, now the attack points of all your monsters get cut in half" Crowler gasped as his monsters lost their power (AGK Attack 2100-1050) (AGW Attack 2000-1000) "And now I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode" a male warrior who looked like he was from the jungle appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1600) "Now Wildheart, attack that Wyvern" Wildheart drew his sword and then slashed the wings off of the Wyvern which dealt damage to Crowler

 **Jaden: 8000  
Crowler: 7500**

"And now Great Tornado will destroy that Knight" Jaden added and then Great Tornado sent a large tornado which blew the Knight to pieces

 **Jaden: 8000  
Crowler: 5750**

"And now I will end my turn" Jaden finished

"Jaden has dealt a good amount of damage to Crowler" Sereda stated

"But now Crowler looks like he's ready to make a comeback" Zane stated

"Crowler better be careful that he doesn't get too cocky otherwise he'll make a mistake" Daylen added

Crowler drew his next card 'I have a plan though I will have to lose some life points for this' "I'll start by playing my facedown card, Ancient Gear Reborn, this allows me to summon back an Ancient Gear monster in my graveyard and I choose my Wyvern" Ancient Gear Wyvern returned to the field "And since he was summoned again, I'm allowed to add my Ancient Gear Soldier to my hand" Crowler added the card to his hand "But there's more, Ancient Gear Reborn gives my Wyvern an extra 200 attack points plus the 300 thanks to my Castle" (AGW Attack 1700-2200) "And you're not the only one who can fusion summon, I play Polymerization in order to fuse Ancient Gear Soldier along with Ancient Gear Beast in my hand in order to summon Ancient Gear Howitzer in attack mode" a large machine made up from different gears and cannons appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 1000 Defence 1800) "And thanks to my Castle, he gains an extra 300 attack points" (AGH Attack 1000-1300)

"It doesn't make any sense though" Alexis stated "Why would Crowler fuse those monsters together, that Fusion monster is weaker than both of them and cannot take out either of Jaden monsters."

But then Zane remembered the last time Crowler used that monster which was when he duelled against Camula "True but Howitzer had a special ability. When it is destroyed in Battle, Crowler can summon any Ancient Gear Monster from his deck."

"Any Ancient Gear Monster!" Kallian gasped

"Now Howitzer, attack that Wildheart" Crowler ordered and then Howitzer fired a blast from his cannot but they didn't affect Wildheart who then the slashed Howitzer into several pieces.

 **Jaden: 8000  
Crowler: 5550**

"And now that Howitzer is destroyed, just like your friends said, I can summon an Ancient Gear monster from my deck." Crowler smirked "Now I could bring out my Golem but sadly he cannot be special summoned, but I can bring this monster out. My Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon" a large mechanical dragon made from rusty metal appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 3000 Defence 3000) "And now my dragon will destroy your Great Tornado and he gains an extra 300 attack points" Reactor Dragon fired a blast of red hot steam which engulfed Great Tornado which caused the warrior to moan in pain before shattering.

 **Jaden: 7500  
Crowler: 5550**

"And my Wyvern still has his attack, so attack that Wildheart." Crowler added and then Wyvern swooped through Wildheart and destroyed him

 **Jaden: 6800  
Crowler: 5550**

"And now I will end my turn" Crowler finished

Jaden drew his next card and looked at it 'I guess this is the only way I can put up a good defence, it may cost me some life points next turn but at least it prevents a direct attack' "I'll start by summoning Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode" s aqua hero monster armed with water pistols appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 1200) "And since he's the only card I have on the field, I can draw two more cards from my deck" Jaden drew two cards from his deck "And now I'm going to activate one of them, Fusion Sage which allows me to add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand. They I will activate it in order to fuse Elemental Heroes Heat and Flash in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Nova Master in attack mode" a red armoured warrior with a fireball in his hands appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2100) "Now Nova Master, destroy that Wyvern again" Nova Master threw the fireball which struck Wyvern and the monster crumbled into small parts.

 **Jaden: 6800  
Crowler: 5150**

"And since Nova Master has destroyed a monster in battle, I get to draw another card" Jaden stated as he drew another card and smirked at it "And I'm going to activate it, Bubble Blaster which gives Bubbleman an extra 800 attack points. And when you destroy him, it's the blaster that gets destroyed" a large water cannon appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder (EHB Attack 800-1600) "Now I will end my turn"

"My turn" Crowler stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Ancient Gear Workshop, now I can add my Ancient Gear Beast in my deck back to my hand" the card returned to Crowler's hand "And now I play the spell card Double Cyclone, this card destroys one spell or crap card on my field and one on yours." A large cyclone shook the field and destroyed Jaden's Bubble blaster causing Bubbleman to lose his attack points (EHB Attack 1600-800) but it also destroyed Crowler's trap card only for a golden snake monster to appear "As you can see, my facedown was Statue of the Wicked which gives me a Wicked Token, by now I will sacrifice him in order to summon Ancient Gear Beast" a large mechanical sabre tooth beast appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 2000) and his attack points increased thanks to the Castle (AGB Attack 2000-2300) "And now my Beast will attack that Bubbleman" The Beast leapt at Bubbleman and tore the monster apart

 **Jaden: 5300  
Crowler: 5150**

"And now Reactor Dragon will take out that Nova Master" Crowler added as the steam fired from the dragon became too much even for the flame hero to withstand.

 **Jaden: 4800  
Crowler: 5150**

"And now I will end my turn" Crowler finished

Jaden drew his next card 'this will help be keep safe until my next turn' he though "I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in attack mode" a warrior in the shape of a dolphin and holding a trident appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200)

"Why would Jaden summon that in attack mode?" Kallian questioned "It can't stand up to Crowler's monsters"

"Jaden must have a plan" Alexis stated "He's not reckless"

"I guess we'll see" Zane stated

"Next I play the spell card Mirage of Nightmare" Jaden added "Now on my turn, I get to draw until I hold 4 cards in my hand. Then I'll throw two cards facedown and end my turn"

"Don't play around with me Jaden" Crowler smirked "Those facedowns are traps and that Ocean is clearly bait, I won't fall for it. But even so, my draw" he drew his card

"And mine too" Jaden smirked "Now Mirage's effect activates and I get to draw until I hold 4 cards in my hand" Jaden drew until 4 cards were in his hand and he smirked at them "And I was not baiting you, I can't activate traps when most of your Ancient Gears attack but I can stop them from attacking altogether. I activate my facedown card, Thunder of Ruler, now you cannot use your Battle phase this turn. Plus I activate my other facedown, Emergency Provisions which means that I can sacrifice my Mirage and gain 1000 life points, and it also prevents me from having to discard next turn" Mirage turned into golden particles which were absorbed by Jaden

 **Jaden: 5800  
Crowler: 5150**

Crowler grumbled at that "Well I guess there is nothing else for me to do other than end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

Jaden then drew his next card "All right, first of, I'm activating a field spell. Fusion Gate, now I can fuse monsters without Polymerization." The field changed and had a dark portal above the field "And now I'll use it in order to fuse Elemental Hero Ocean on my field with Sparkman in my hand, this allows me to summon Elemental Hero the Shining in attack mode." A white armoured hero with a bright white aura surrounding him appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2100) "And he gains 300 attack points for every banished Elemental Hero and since using Fusion Gate banishes them, that's two removed from play so Shining gains 600 attack points" (EHTS Attack 2600-3200) "That may not be enough to defeat your Reactor Dragon but it can destroy your Beast, so attack with Shining Blast" Shining zapped through the air and went through Ancient Gear Beast and the Beast then exploded.

 **Jaden: 5800  
Crowler: 4250**

"And that will do it for me" Jaden stated

"My move" Crowler stated and he smirked at his card "And I summon a monster that's very familiar to you. My great Ancient Gear Golem" a large Golem made of rusty metal parts appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 3000) "And I can summon him by sacrificing my castle, though now my monsters don't gain any attack points" the castle vanished which caused Reactor Dragon to lose his power advantage (AGRD Attack 3300-3000)

"But now Crowler's monsters can't destroy Jaden's Shining" Theorn stated "What was the point of that?"

"Crowler must have a plan" Alexis stated

Crowler heard them "I sure do" he stated "I play the equip spell called Ancient Gear Steam Reactor and equip it to Reactor Dragon, now he gains 500 attack points" A power reactor was attached to the belly of the mechanical dragon which made the steam he produced even more powerful (AGRD Attack 3000-3500) "Everyone gasped as now Crowler could deal a lot of damage to Jaden "Now Reactor Dragon, destroy the Shining" Reactor Dragon sent out a powerful blast of steam which engulfed the Shining and destroyed him

 **Jaden: 5600  
Crowler: 4250**

"Since you just destroyed the Shining, his ability activates which allows me to add two Banished Elemental Heroes to my hand. So Ocean and Sparkman return to my hand" the two monsters returned to Jaden's Hand

"You'll need them soon" Crowler smirked "Because my Golem still has his attack, go Mechanised Melee" the Golem threw a powerful fist which knocked Jaden back

 **Jaden: 2600  
Crowler: 4250**

"Looks like Crowler now has the advantage" Dorian stated

Cassandra looked at Alexius "How much power have they produced?" she asked

Alexius looked at his laptop "Not quite enough, they just need a bit more and we'll have enough. But one thing that worries me is that if they create too much, the portal could overpower when we power it up and then it could suck everyone in. This portal is more powerful than the one Livius created."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Dorian stated

"And before I end my turn, I've got one last card to play" Crowler added "The spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, now I can destroy that Fusion Gate of yours." A blue tornado swooped onto the field and blew the card out of the field spell card zone of Jaden's Duel Disk and the portal vanished "And now I will end my turn"

Jaden placed his hand on his deck "My draw" he said as he drew his card and looked at his hand, he had some good monsters but none of them could defeat Crowler's monsters, one direct attack and it was over. But he had something that could get him more cards "I play the spell Card of Sanctity, now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Both Crowler and Jaden drew until they held 6 cards in their hands and Jaden got the cards he needed "I play my final copy of Polymerization. This allows me to fuse Elemental Heroes Sparkman with Necroshade in order to summon Elemental Hero Escuridao in attack mode" a dark monster made from shadows appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2500 Defence 2000) "And she gains 100 attack points for every Elemental Hero in my graveyard, so with 12 in my graveyard, that's 1200 attack points." Dark shadows surrounded Escuridao as she gained more power (EHE Attack 2500-3700) "And now I summon Elemental Hero Bladedge in attack mode, and since Necroshade's in my graveyard, I don't need to tribute any monsters." A golden armoured warrior appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 1800) "And now I play the spell card H-Heated Heart, now Bladedge gains an extra 500 attack points" Bladedge glowed as he gained more power (EHB Attack 2600-3100) "And now Bladedge, attack that Golem with Slice and Dice attack." Bladedge leapt towards the Golem and then sliced at him using his razor sharp blades which caused the Golem to weaken before collapsing

 **Jaden: 2600  
Crowler: 4150**

"And my Escuridao will destroy that Reactor Dragon" Jaden added and then Escuridao fired black wines from her hands which wrapped around the dragon and tightened more and more until the Dragon was crushed

 **Jaden: 2600  
Crowler: 3950**

"And now I will end my turn" Jaden finished

Crowler drew his next card which made him smirk "You know, I have a lot to thank you for Jaden" he stated "Thanks to you, I have a hand full of useful cards and if you thought my Golem was tough, then you haven't seen anything yet."

"Uh oh" Neria stated "I don't like the sound of that"

"What is Crowler doing?" Alexis questioned

"I think the answer is coming" Sereda stated

Crowler carried on with his move "First I play the spell card Fusion Recovery, now I get Polymerization along with Ancient Gear Soldier back to my hand"

"Wait" Daylen gasped "He's going to do another fusion summon?"

Crowler smirked "I sure am" he stated "I use Polymerization to fuse my second Ancient Gear Golem along with my Ancient Gear Cannon and Ancient Gear Soldier in my hand." The Soldier, Golem and Cannon appeared on the field and were then sucked into a portal "Unite the wisdom and savagery of past ages into a brutal behemoth. I fusion summon, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem" a powerful machine even bigger than the Golem with four massive legs and the upper body of the Golem attacked along with two massive hands appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 4400 Defence 3400)

Everyone gasped at the power of this monster "That monster is more powerful than anything Jaden has in his deck" Alexis gasped

"I guess that's why it's his ultimate monster" Aedan stated

"And now I play two spell cards" Crowler added "First Ancient Gear Hammer, now by removing Reactor Dragon in my graveyard from play, I can destroy one monster of the field with less attack points and I choose your Bladedge" a large hammer appeared on the field which then smashed down on top of Bladedge and crushed him in an instant. "And the spell card Ancient Gear Blocker, now until the end of this turn, all special abilities of monsters are negated"

"Say what!" Jaden gasped as Escuridao lost her gained power (EHE Attack 3700-2500)

"Now my Golem will smash that monster of yours into pieces" Crowler smirked as Golem lifted his fist and brought it down on Escuridao which crushed the monster

 **Jaden: 700  
Crowler: 3950**

"And now I will end my turn" Crowler finished and he smirked "Now you can see the full power of my deck, I don't get the chance to show it off much but you're in a tough spot now, my Ultimate Golem deals piercing damage like the normal Golem and when he is destroyed, my normal Golem takes his place"

"Oh no" Aedan gasped "It looks like Jaden has finally met his match, I don't see how he can get through this"

"Don't count Jaden out" Theorn stated "He's been in situations like this before; he may still find a way"

But this time Jaden wasn't so sure 'How can I beat that thing?" he thought 'I don't have many cards in my hand and Ocean can't help me. I'm glad this is just a friendly duel and not a Shadow Game.' He then smiled "I'm not going to give up" he stated "I will duel until I lose all my Life points"

"That is how a true Duellist speaks" Crowler smirked "Never give up"

"I won't" Jaden stated as he drew his card and heard a cooing noise, he smiled when he saw it was his buddy Winged Kuriboh "It seems I can bring out my old friend Winged Kuriboh" a small brown furball with angel wings appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 300 Defence 200)

Crowler smirked "It may not be powerful but it will buy you some time" he stated "Now attack Golem" Ultimate Golem threw down his fist and destroyed Winged Kuriboh

"Winged Kuriboh bought him some time" Theorn claimed "As he doesn't take any damage this turn"

"But Jaden needs to find a way this turn otherwise he's finished" Sereda stated

Jaden drew what he knew would be his final card in the duel; he just hoped that he drew a good card. When he saw it, he saw that it was just the card he needed "I play the spell Card of Demise, now I draw until I have five cards in my hand" Jaden drew until he had five cards in his hand "Next up I play the spell card Monster Reborn which allows me to bring back Elemental Hero Wildheart from the grave" the brown skinned warrior returned to the field "And now I play Pot of Avarice, this card allows me to add five monster in my graveyard to my deck." Jaden returned Clayman, Avian, Burstinatrix, Sparkman and Flash to his deck "Then I shuffle and draw two more cards" Jaden shuffled his deck and drew two cards "And next with my own Fusion Recovery, I get Bladedge and Wildheart to my hand. Then I play the spell card Wild Half which halves your Golem's attack points and summons a token" The Ultimate Golem grew smaller and a second one appeared (UAGG Attack 4400-2200) "And now I play Polymerization to fuse Wildheart and Bladedge together and summon Elemental Hero Wildedge" a new Wildheart appeared on the field but this one had one arm, one leg and the helmet of Bladedge (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2300) "And with Rush Recklessly, he gains 700 attack points" a red aura surrounded Wildedge and his eyes were filled with fury (EHW Attack 2600-3300) "And since he can attack all your monsters, go, destroy those Ultimate Golems" Wildedge fired two sharp blades from his gauntlet which destroyed the Golems.

 **Jaden: 700  
Crowler: 1750**

Then like Crowler said before, the normal Golem appeared on the field "And now Wildedge, take that Golem out too" Wildedge drew his sword and chopped the Golem in two

 **Jaden: 700  
Crowler: 1450**

"Well I still have life points left" Crowler stated

"Not for long you won't" Jaden smirked "I have one last card to play" he then revealed it which made Crowler gasp "Diffusion which separates Wildedge into Wildheart and Bladedge" Wildedge split into the two monsters that made him up "And now Wildheart, finish the duel off" Wildheart drew his sword and slashed Crowler which knocked him back

 **Jaden: 700 (Winner)  
Crowler: 0000**

"All right" Kallian cheered "Jaden did it, he won"

Jaden walked over to Crowler "That duel was even better than the one we had before"

This time, Crowler did not get mad "I hated you because you humiliated me at the Entrance Exam" he stated "You may not be good at work or in class but you're a skilled duellist. But one of these days, I will beat you"

"I'm looking forward to our next duel," Jaden stated

Alexius stepped onto the field "Well now that this duel is over, I need to prepare for Portal which should take you to the Dimension where Solona is."

"And now long is that going to take?" Cassandra asked

"About an hour" Alexius stated, "I just hope that it doesn't overpower, this portal has to be powerful enough to take the whole group to the Dimension and stay together, if it overpowers even a little bit then it will separate them or worse, suck everyone in."

Cassandra turned to Daniel "Daniel, keep an eye on him while he prepares the portal" she ordered "Make sure she doesn't try anything funny"

"I will" Daniel ordered

Daylen turned to the others who would be going with him "We should go and prepare for the journey, this isn't a game anymore, and we'll find my sister and bring her back. And we all must have our decks to be as good as they can get."

…

Later, after Alexius had prepared the Portal for transportation, everyone was back in the Duel Arena. The group that would be going to the Dimension stood on the arena which included Daylen, Aedan, Neria, Theorn, Jaden, Crowler and Zane. The rest were sitting on the seats and watched as their friends would be leaving them.

Alexius looked at them "Now remember what I told you" he stated "Try not to duel anyone unless you have no choice, duelling in that Dimension is like a Shadow Game. Stay together and do not go off looking for Solona on your own. And when you do find Solona, you return here as soon as you can."

"That's all I want to do" Daylen stated "Find my sister and bring her home"

"Good" Alexius nodded "Now we will lose communication when you enter and your Duel Pilots won't work so you'll won't be able to communicate with each other. Now, are you sure you're ready for this"

"We are" Aedan stated

"Then stand still while I open the portal," Alexius stated and then he walked to the sides where Cassandra, Dorian, Daniel and Chancellor Sheppard sat and then he brought out his laptop. Then he activated the portal which then opened in front of everyone.

Everyone looked at the deep blue portal which was currently calm and then they started to walk into it. Daylen went first and was followed by Neria and Aedan. The three of them turned blue as they walked through the portal and then they vanished.

But then, things went wrong just as Theorn was about to walk through when he saw sparks across the portal "Wait, what's wrong?" he questioned

Alexius looked at his laptop and he widened his eyes "Someone had hacked my system!" he gasped "The Venatori must be aware of what we're doing. They're placing more power into the portal." Then Theorn was violently tugged and pulled into the portal to the horror of the others. "I've lost all control!" then Zane and Crowler were pulled into the portal as well.

"Shut it down!" Dorian yelled and Alexius tried to cut the power to the portal but it was no use.

"It's no use!" Alexius yelled "The portal is overpowering, it's sucking everyone in"

Jaden suddenly felt himself being tugged only for Alexis to grab his hand "Jaden!" she yelled as her boyfriend was being dragged away but soon even she was being pulled in. Chazz tried to help but he too got dragged away.

"Kids!" Aristide gasped as he tried to help but he too along with Avexis got pulled in by the power of the portal and were sucked in.

Sheppard watched in horror as Sereda and Kallian were then pulled into the portal as well and he turned to Alexius "Switch it off now!" he shouted as Alexius tried everything to shut the portal down but nothing worked.

Cassandra suddenly felt the portal try to pull her in as well but a mystical barrier created by Dorian blocked all it and protected them. But now they saw that the portal was about to explode so Dorian used his powers to place the barrier around the portal and then the portal exploded and sealed itself.

Sheppard looked around, Dorian had been able to prevent the explosion from destroying the building but now everyone was gone. Only Sheppard, Dorian, Cassandra, Daniel and Alexius had not been sucked into the portal. "Great!" Sheppard groaned "This is not going to be good for the school reputation"

Dorian looked at him "We may be able to hide this for some time by saying that they went on a trip but we need to bring them back"

"And fast" Alexius stated "If we don't bring them back soon then the Dimensions will be too far apart for us and it may take years before they can come back."

"Then we must get another portal working" Dorian stated

Alexius looked at his destroyed portal "It will take time before I can create a new one." He then sighed "We will also have to do this in a place where the Venatori may hack my system again."

Cassandra looked at him "We're going back to the Seeker headquarters" she stated "The Venatori don't know its location, we should be safe there."

"I just hope that they're all alright" Sheppard stated "I would never forgive myself if anything happens to them"

"I'm sure they're all fine" Dorian stated "Now we should go and prepare to create another portal, it's going to be a long few days for us but I know that we'll bring them all back safely"

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Well another chapter completed after being on hold while I was writing my Rise of the Divines. Now this story is getting to the main part of the story and the next arc is starting, this chapter was a filler and now we will be in the new Dimension in the next chapter though not all the characters will be in every chapter for a while though many will take place at the same time. I hope your all enjoy this story but it will be a while until it's finished because this is another series of Yu Gi Oh.**

 **Created cards:**

Ancient Gear Steam Reactor: Equip spell: This card can only be equipped to an Ancient Gear monster, it gains 500 attack points

Ancient Gear Hammer: Normal spell: When you control an Ancient Gear monster, destroy one monster on your opponent's field.


	11. A Strange New World:

**A Strange New World:**

The Elder One was not happy and Livius himself knew it. He had failed in his mission and now the Elder One was furious with what happened.

"You had the girl and now you lost her!" The Elder One growled at Livius

"Oh master" Livius cried "I'm sorry that I failed you, but as a loyal servant of you, I accept whatever punishment you give me."

The Elder One looked at Livius but then turned away "As it happens, you were not a failure, you may have failed to bring the girl here but she was brought to this Dimension so all we need to do is find her." He stated

Gordian looked at him "But Master, what if the girl's friends find a way here and try to get her before we can?" he questioned

Calpernia answered that "Master has already thought of that" she claimed "I was able to influence their own portal which has now dropped everyone who came here in different locations. Now they will most likely try and find each other first"

The Elder One looked at his followers "While we're searching for the girl, we must also step up our mission to find the Last Old God and start advancing into the land. With most of the smaller groups in chaos because of the war, that leaves us able to take out these smaller factions easily. Maliphant is already fighting well with his group in the Emerald Forest with Duhaime but we must find another stronghold." He then looked at a few of his followers "Lucanus, I'm sending you to the ruins in the Western Approach to find Relics that can help us"

"It will be done Master," Lucanus stated

The Elder One then looked at another follower "Macrinus will also go to the Approach, we need a stronghold in the region due to the many ruins there, there is an Abandoned Keep, you will take some of our followers there including Servis. The Keep is heavily fortified and will be useful for us to maintain a foothold."

"I understand" Macrinus stated

And finally the Elder One looked at Samson, one of his top soldiers and reader of the Red Templars "And Samson, you will carry on with raids and capture anyone you can, duellists you will send to us so we can take control of them and anyone else you will send to the mines, they will be useful later"

"Yes master" Samson sneered "I will do whatever you command"

The Elder One smiled "You have you missions, now move out"

…

Kallian Tabris groaned as she opened her eyes and placed her hand on her head, she had a massive headache and had no idea what was going on. She remembered being pulled into the portal along with everyone else when the portal overpowered. She stood up and had a look around. She looked at her surroundings and saw that she was on some kind of rocky hillside. There were many rock formations around her but there was no sign of anyone else.

"Aedan!" she shouted out "Daylen! Sereda! Zane! Dr Crowler! Is there anyone here!" there was no answer and Kallian knew that she was alone. She felt a few tears forming in her eyes; she was alone and had no idea what to do. She never did plan to come through the portal and not be alone. She remembered what Alexius had stated about this Dimension and hoped that she didn't run into anyone dangerous. But it was clear that she would have to go and find help, there was no way she could do this on her own, she hoped that she could find someone who could help her or better yet, one of her friends.

But as Kallian started walking, she found it difficult to move and when she looked down, she found out why. She was no longer wearing her Ra Yellow Uniform; instead she wore some sort of green and brown dress made from cotton. She was confused as to why she was dressed like this but it got stranger when she scratched the side of her head and felt her ears seemed to be longer than before "What is going on?" she questioned but knew she would get no answers by waiting and so she decided to walk on to try and find help.

...

Kallian was not the only one who found herself to be alone. Theorn Maheriel woke up and saw that he was in some kind of forest. Theorn stood up and felt his face and found that his ears had also changed shape and become longer. "Where am I?" he questioned and then he was in for another shock when he looked at his clothes as he saw that his uniform had changed into some kind of leather armour. Theorn looked around and was worried as he had no idea where this forest went to and he could easily get lost. So Theorn decided that the only way was to walk in one direction until he found his way out of the forest or to a path that could lead him out of the forest. He saw that he still had his duel disk and deck so at least he had something with him. Theorn then got up and walked on "I just hope I can find a way out of here and not get lost" he said to himself.

…

Not everyone was on their own, Dr Crowler found that he was with Zane and were on some kind of field. Their clothes had changed into tunics but unlike Kallian and Theorn, their ears were the same.

Crowler however was unhappy "What is going on here" he demanded "Why am I dressed like this, I look stupid"

"I think it must be something to do with this world" Zane stated "We'll have to find someone who can explain to us. And we better try and find the others, if that portal overpowered then we're all scattered."

"I agree" Crowler claimed "Alexius stated that this world is dangerous. I just hope that no one has gotten hurt"

Zane looked towards the horizon "I'm more worried about Solona" he stated "She's been here longer than we have and she may have already gotten into trouble. I just hope that she's alright"

"I hope so too" Crowler claimed "Well we're not going to find her standing here, we better get moving and try and find civilization then we might find a way of locating the others."

Crowler and Zane then stood up and began walking to try and find the others.

…

Not all of this new world was countryside. There was a large city that was filled with activity. People were all around the city doing their normal daily duties. But this city was not a modern city; it looked like a city from medieval Europe as the people were all dressed in clothes that would have been worn in those times. There were even armed soldiers wearing armour patrolling the streets.

In an alley of the city, one young woman groaned as she woke up. The girl had long black hair and green eyes, it was Solona Amell, when she had been pulled into the portal, and this city was where she had been taken to. Solona looked around "Where am I?" she asked herself and then she gasped when she saw her clothes "And why am I dressed like this? This is so weird?" Solona then walked out of the Alley and saw the crowded streets of the city "What's going on, the last thing I remembered was being sucked into that portal when it reopened." Solona remembered being sucked into a portal and now she was separated from her friends "And this place looks nothing like any place that I've been to before. How am I supposed to find my friends now? How do I get home, what if I'm trapped here forever? Wherever here is." Solona felt a tear running from her eyes, she was a very brave girl but she had never been in a situation like this as now she was on her own and she had no idea what to do. Then she heard yelling and Solona walked along the streets to see several cages being transported through the street with people in them. Some of the people in these cages looked scared while others were throwing angry glares at the people who had gathered. The gathered crowd meanwhile yelled horrible things at the cages and others threw rotten food at them. Solona was totally confused as to what was going on "What's going on here?" she asked herself "What's with the cages"

Her question was answered by a young boy next to her "Why you should know" he stated "They're prisoners from the war."

"The war?" Solona questioned

"Yeah" the boy stated "The war that the Warrior faction is waging against those Spellcaster upstarts. Soon we will bring peace to this world and unite the world under our leadership."

Solona was totally confused to this, Warrior and Spellcaster were two types of monsters so could that be what the boy was meaning. Duelling in this world was split into groups of factions. But she didn't say anything.

The boy's smile turned into a frown "Are you okay?" he asked "You don't seem to understand what I'm saying?"

"I'm sorry" Solona stated "I'm just a little tired that's all"

"Well you should get some rest" the boy stated "And one of these days, I'm going to become a great duellist and be a part of the Warrior faction. If I train hard enough, I could be someone who leads soldiers on the battlefield"

"Well that's good to know" Solona said slowly as she had nothing else to say

"It's time to go son" a voice called and Solona saw a woman who she presumed was the boy's mother approach "We must get home so you can study if you ever what to join the Warriors"

"Yes mum" the boy whined as he did not look happy that he had to study and as the two of them left, the boy waved at her "It's was nice meeting you"

But then the mother turned her eyes on Solona and walked up to her "Excuse me young lady but how old are you?" she demanded

"Um, I'm fifteen" Solona answered "Why, is something wrong?"

"If you are that age then why aren't you training with the others your age?" the woman stated

Now Solona was getting worried "Wait, what do you mean?" she asked

"You know the laws here!" The woman snapped "All children above the ages of 14 must go to Gallows Duelling School to train"

"But I'm already in a Duel School?" Solona stated

More people who stood near her overheard her "That's impossible!" one man hissed "There is only one duelling School in the whole of the Warrior Faction. If you belong to another then that means that you are an enemy of the Warriors!"

Solona was now starting to worry so she began to walk backwards "Look I've had a bit of a rough day OK." She stated "I don't where I am or what's going on. I don't want any trouble so I think I'm just going to leave here and find out where am I" but as she walked away, a man dressed in armour blocked her path.

"You're not going anywhere young lady!" he snapped "You're coming with us to the Gallows in order to be re-educated in the Warrior ways" he then grabbed her hand but Solona was able to pull away and push past him. Then she began running through the crowd "Don't just stand there" the man shouted to other soldiers "Get here, a promotion for the one who captures her!" soon a group of soldiers began following her.

Solona meanwhile had come off the main street and into a few side streets "What kind of place is this?" she questioned herself "This place seems to be using Duelling for war and there is a war going on here. I have to find a way to get home" but as she began running through the streets, she eventually came to a dead end "Great, a dead end" but when she turned around, she saw a group of soldiers who had been following her blocking her only way out.

"There's no escape" one man taunted "Now come with us, you're going back to the Gallows"

"If you don't resist then you might just get off with a warning" another added

"And if you don't, then you know what the punishment is" the third man taunted

Solona gave a few deep breaths and then looked to see if there was any way of escaping. But the street was blocked and there were no other ways. But then she found a Duel Academy Duel Disk in a small bag that she had along with her duelling deck. So she placed the Duel Disk on her arm along with her deck.

The leader of the men laughed "So you're going to fight then" he stated "Well when I beat you it will give you additional punishment"

Solona narrowed her eyes "I've defeat many people before" she hissed "I've well skilled"

The man laughed "No one can beat the power of the Warrior army" he stated as he activated his own Duel Disk

" **DUEL!"**

 **Solona: 8000  
Stranger: 8000**

"Since I'm important, I'll go first" the man stated "And I'll start by summoning Marauding Captain in attack mode" the blond haired warrior with two swords appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 400) "and now his ability activates which allows me to summon a level 4 or lower warrior from my hand. And I choose my Command Knight" a red haired warrior wearing leather armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1900) "And finally, I play the spell card Polymerization in order to fuse King's Knight, Queen's Knight and Jack's Knight in my hand" three knights appeared on the field which were then sucked into a portal "When the power of the knights of cards come together they create the rarest knight, one that doesn't like Jokes. I fusion summon, Arcana Knight Joker in attack mode" a tall knight wearing a blue kilt, chest armour with fancy designs and holding a sword in one had along with a dagger in the other appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 3800 Defence 2500) "That will be all and there is nothing you can do that will beat me, I have a powerful monster on my field and he's even more powerful since Command Knight gives him an extra 400 attack points along with my other warrior monsters" all three of the monsters glowed as they gained power (MC Attack 1200-1600) (CK Attack 1200-1600) (AKJ Attack 3800-4200)

"Don't be so sure on that" Solona stated as she drew her card 'This deck seems similar to Kallian's and I happen to know those monster effects. I can only attack Marauding Captain and I can't take out Command Knight until I take out both monsters' she then smiled at her hand 'And this is the best hand I could get' so she selected her first card "I'll start by summoning Kaibaman in attack mode" the monster that looked like Seto Kaiba appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 700)

The people here had never seen this monster before and looked confused "Funny" one stated "That's a warrior but I've never heard of it"

"Doesn't matter" the man duelling Solona stated "That monster cannot stand up to my monsters."

Solona smirked "He can't but this can" she said "I activate Kaibaman's special ability, now I can tribute him to special summon this from my hand." Kaibaman vanished into golden particles which then took the shape of Solona's Blue Eyes "I summon Blue eyes White Dragon in attack mode" the blue and white scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500)

"Wait, a dragon?" the duellist gasped "I've only heard stories about those monsters!"

Solona noticed that the man seemed scared which confused her, she had used this card many times and she never got a reaction like this but she carried on with her turn "Next I activate Dragon's shrine, this allows me to discard another Dragon type monster in my deck to the grave, so I send another Blue Eyes and since he's a normal monster, my third copy also goes to the graveyard."

"She has three powerful dragons!" one of the other man gasped "I've never seen anyone who has dragons as a deck, just who is this girl"

Solona looked at her opponent "And if you think one dragon is bad, it gets worse when three dragons combine into one, first I play Dark Factory of Mass Production which allows me to bring my two copies of Blue Eyes back to my hand" the two Blue Eyes returned to Solona's hand "And now I activate Polymerization which allows me to fuse my Blue Eyes on the field with the two in my hand" Blue Eyes rose up and the spirits of the other two appeared and were sucked into a portal "Three powerful dragons combined into one created a three headed beast that stops anything in its path. I Fusion summon Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." The massive three headed dragon appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 4500 Defence 3800) the three Warrior Faction members gasped in shock and now looked scared "And now I play the spell card Neutron Blast, this allows my Dragon to attack three times this turn, so attack that Captain" the first head sent a blast of blue fire which engulfed the Captain and destroyed him

 **Solona: 8000  
Stranger: 5100**

"Now attack that Arcana Knight Joker" Solona added and the second head blasted the Joker off the field

 **Solona: 8000  
Stranger: 4800**

"And finally, attack Command Knight" Solona finished as the final head's fire destroyed Command Knight

 **Solona: 8000  
Stranger: 1900**

"And it's not over yet" Solona smirked "With Diffusion, my dragon separates into the three dragons used to make him" Ultimate dragon separated into the three Blue Eyes White Dragons "I only need one to defeat you so one will attack you with Burst Stream of Destruction" one of the dragons fired a blast of blue fire which engulfed her opponent and sent him flying back into a wall where he crumbled to the ground.

 **Solona: 8000 (Winner)  
Stranger: 0000**

The three people who chased stared at Solona in shock; she had just defeated one of them in just one turn and with dragon decks. But they were terrified of her now and they just turned around and ran for it while the one Solona defeated quickly followed them. Solona just stared in shock and was totally confused as to what just happened. But she knew that she had to get out of here now while she had the chance, but she had no idea where to go.

"Hey" a voiced called quietly and Solona turned to see a woman standing nearby "I can help you get out of here, I know a way out and a place where you will be safe. I know you don't trust me but we have to go now before the Command sends more after you"

Solona knew that she couldn't trust strangers but she had no choice here and had to get out of this place and so she followed the strange woman, but bother were unaware that they were being watched from a nearby tower.

...

In a large castle in the city, two people were in what looked like an office. There was a desk with a load of papers on which needed signing and a seat to relax in. The woman sitting behind the desk wore armour just like the soldiers in the city but wore a red hood that covered her long blond hair and she had a badge on which showed that she was an important member. The man sitting opposite her was an older man with a bald heard and a thick grey beard.

"So Otto?" the woman questioned "How goes the war"

The man known as Otto sighed "Not as well as the people think Commander Meredith" he stated "The people believe we are winning but in truth, this war is just a stalemate, we cannot get into the Spellcaster territory and we have been unable to captured Redcliffe."

The woman now known as Command Meredith, leader of the Warrior Faction narrowed her eyes at Otto "I do not care how long it takes!" she snapped "I want that castle and those cards; they are what I need to wipe the Spellcaster scum from this world"

"I agree" Otto stated "Once those spellcasters have been dealt with, we will rule this world like we were meant to. Our Empire will be even greater than the one of the Dragons"

Meredith smiled until there was a knock at the door and another member of the Warrior faction walked in "Commander, I have two very important reports" the messenger claimed "There was a disturbance in the square today where a runaway duellist was found. Our warriors followed her but she put up a fight and she defeated them."

"Weaklings!" Meredith snarled "I will not tolerate that, I'll have them thrown into Aeonar for this, send a message to all those who are weak"

But there was more to say "There's more" he claimed "They said she used a deck filled with dragons and that she escaped the city thanks to a former member of us."

Meredith knew who the messenger was talking about "So she's returned" she sneered and turned to Otto "send one of our best after them, we'll capture them before they reach Redcliffe and then we'll have those dragons that this stranger has"

Otto sneered "It will be done commander" he stated and left to office to find the right person for the job.

...

Solona walked along the road with the woman who helped her who claimed her name was Evangeline. Solona hoped that she could help tell her where she was and what was going on.

"So what was that back there?" Solona asked her "Why did those people chase me?"

Evangeline looked at her "I take it you must be from one of the tribes that are unaffected by the war?" she questioned

Solona decided that she should play along so she didn't look crazy "Yes, I did not move away from my tribe and we don't talk much about this place."

Evangeline sighed "Well currently the two biggest tribes in this world are at war" she claimed "The Warrior Faction vs. the Spellcaster Faction. They haven't liked each other for years and they have had small fights in the past. But this is the first time that they've gone into all out war. The problem is that both their lands are blocked by the lands of the small tribes so now these groups are just victims of the war. The Warriors claim they're winning the war but in truth, this war is just a stalemate, neither side has been able to capture any land from the opposite side and only capture small fortresses from the lands between them"

Solona had another question "How did this war start?" she questioned

Evangeline looked at her "All I know is that the Warrior Leader Meredith just declare war one day, she's hated the Spellcaster Faction and some of her commanders think that the Warrior Faction should rule over all the other groups. So now they see it as a war of conquest and have attacked the smaller tribes to gain land. They capture the duellists and then brainwash them into their beliefs and ones who are not duellists are forced to accept their way of life. Of course, not all members of the Warrior Faction agreed with this. I was once a member of the Faction army and was proud to be one. But when we just attacked innocent tribes, I decided to leave and help these people. That's where we're going, to a tribe that I've been helping. They can explain more of this world to you when we get there."

But as they carried on down the road, they soon found their path blocked by a group of armoured soldiers and they had the same symbol that the soldiers in the city had "Great" Evangeline grumbled "They've found us already"

The leader of the soldiers laughed. This one was a woman with her brown hair tied into two buns at the back of her hair "One of our lookouts spotted the two of you together as you left the city" she sneered "So we knew where you were going and laid an ambush for you. Now you're both coming with us and you Evangeline will be tried for treason!"

Evangeline narrowed her eyes "I won't surrender Rylock!" she snapped "I don't give up that easily."

"Well then we duel and no matter if you win, I still have more men waiting for you" the woman known as Rylock smirked and the two of them stepped forward and activated their Duel Disks.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Evangeline: 8000  
Rylock: 8000**

"Since I'm not a deserter, I'll go first" Rylock smirked as she drew her sixth card "And I'll start by summoning X-Saber Anu Piranha in attack mode" a woman with blond hair, wearing red armour and wielding two katana swords appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1100) "Then I'll throw one card facedown and end my turn"

"X-Sabers?" Solona questioned as she watched the duel "I've never heard of that deck before"

Evangeline narrowed her eyes "My draw" she hissed as she drew her sixth card "And first of all, I'm going to summon The Six Samurai-Yaichi in attack mode" a black armoured samurai warrior with yellow markings and wielding a bow appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1300 Defence 800)

"Six Samurai" Solona gasped "She had heard of this deck before and was deadly when used right

But Rylock laughed "Ha, that monster is no match for my X-Saber"

"He's not but I have another that is" Evangeline smirked "Since I control a Six Samurai monster, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai in attack mode." A well trained man with scars along his body along with long white hair and an eye patch over one eye appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 800). "Now Grandmaster will destroy that X-Saber" The Grandmaster stood up and drew his swords before charging at the X-Saber before swinging his sword which cut through the warrior and destroyed her.

 **Evangeline: 8000  
Rylock: 7700**

"And now Yaichi will attack you directly" Evangeline added and then the archer fired an arrow from his bow which made Rylock groan in pain.

 **Evangeline: 8000  
Rylock: 6400**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Evangeline finished "It's your move now"

"And I will make a comeback from my mistake" Rylock growled "First I play my facedown card, Call of the Haunted which allows me to bring my Anu Piranha back to the field." The red armoured warrior returned to the field "Next I summon X-Saber Palomuro in attack mode" an armoured green lizard with a sword appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 200 Defence 300)

"She must be planning something" Solona stated as she watched "That monster is too weak to take on any of Evangeline's monsters"

Rylock heard her "I sure am planning something, Palomuro is a tuner monster"

"Tuner?" Solona gasped "Uh oh" she realised that Synchro summon must be a big thing in this place

"Now I tune my Level 1 Palomuro with my Level 4 Anu Piranha" Rylock stated as the Lizard turned into light and became a large ring which surrounded Anu Piranha who then turned into a beam of light "Warrior from the Old West, show just how they fight in today's battles, I Synchro summon X-Saber Wayne" a muscular warrior wearing ragged armour with blue cloth blowing in the wind along with a cowboy hat and wielding a pistol with a dagger on appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 400). "And now his ability activates which allows me to summon one level 4 or lower Warrior monster from my hand, so I summon Twin Sword Marauder in attack mode" a dark armoured warrior appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000) "And finally, I play the spell card Block Attack which stitches your Grandmaster to defence mode" the Grandmaster knelt down.

Solona realised that Evangeline was in trouble because of Twin Sword Marauder's special ability "When Marauder attacks a defence mode monster; it can attack again and deals piercing damage."

"That's right" Rylock smirked "I see you know our monster's effects. Now Marauder, attack that Grandmaster" The Marauder swung his sword and slashed Grandmaster in two and the sword struck Evangeline as well

 **Evangeline: 7200  
Rylock: 6400**

"And thanks to my Marauder's special ability, since he attacked a defence mode monster, he can attack again so destroy that Yaichi" the Marauder swung again and this time destroyed the Archer which dealt more damage to Evangeline

 **Evangeline: 6900  
Rylock: 6400**

"And now you're wide open so Wayne will attack you directly" Rylock added and Wayne fired a shot from his pistol which blew Evangeline back making her groan in pain

 **Evangeline: 4800  
Rylock: 6400**

"Now you see what happens when you desert the Warrior Faction" Rylock sneered "You're weak while I've become strong"

"You've also become arrogant" Evangeline smirked "You think that you're invincible even though duels can go either way. And now it's my turn" Evangeline drew her next card "And since you control a monster while I don't, I can special summon Elder of the Six Samurai in attack mode" a large decorative carriage with a small man kneeling inside appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 400 Defence 0) "And now I play the spell card Cunning of the Six Samurai, now I can sacrifice my Elder and summon my Grandmaster again" Elder was engulfed in light and replaced with the Grandmaster again "And while I may not be able to destroy that Wayne, I can still destroy your Marauder, so attack" Grandmaster drew his sword and slashed the Marauder which then shattered

 **Evangeline: 4800  
Rylock: 5900**

"And then to boast my defence, I summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defence mode" Evangeline added and a warrior with mechanical arms appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 2000) "And now I will end my turn"

Rylock narrowed her eyes at Evangeline "I'm not a fool!" she hissed "I won't waste my Wayne, so I'm going to equip him with the equip spell Axe of Despair, this gives him an extra 1000 attack points" a large spooky axe appeared in the other hand of Wayne (XSW Attack 2100-3100). "And he's going to use this attack boost to destroy that Grandmaster again" Wayne swung his newly acquired axe and slashed Grandmaster again and destroyed him.

 **Evangeline: 3800  
Rylock: 5900**

"And that will be all I do since I can't attack again but next time, you will lose your defence and I will defeat you" Rylock stated

Evangeline narrowed her eyes at Rylock "We'll see about that" she hissed as she drew her next card "First of, I play the spell card Six Samurai United, now when I summon a Six Samurai monster, a Bushido counter is added to it. When two are added, I can send it to the graveyard and draw two cards. Now I summon Six Samurai Zanji in attack mode" a Samurai warrior with orange colour and with a bandaged arm and wielding a long katana appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1300). "And this gives me a token on my Six Samurai United" (SSU BC: 1) "And then I play my facedown card, Return of the Six Samurai, you thought you've seen the last of my Grandmaster, well you're wrong because he's returning" Grandmaster appeared on the field once again.

But Rylock wasn't worried "You may have two monsters but they're useless" she sneered, "Your Grandmaster will be destroyed at the end of the turn thanks to the effect of your trap and they don't have the strength to defeat my Wayne"

"Maybe not" Evangeline stated "But since Grandmaster was summoned, I get another token" (SSU BC: 2) "And with two counters, I can now sacrifice my trap to draw two cards." Six Samurai United turned into golden particles and Evangeline drew two more cards and she smirked at one of them "And since I control three Six Samurai monsters, I can play the spell card Six Strike Triple Impact, since I control three Six Samurai monsters, I can destroy all your monsters, so go, destroy that Wayne." Zanji, Grandmaster and Chamberlain placed their weapons together and then send a blast of magic at Rylock's field and when the smoke cleared, Rylock's field was empty "And with your field empty, you're wide open for an attack, so now both Zanji and Grandmaster will attack you directly." Grandmaster and Zanji both slashed Rylock with their swords, which made Rylock groan in pain.

 **Evangeline: 3800  
Rylock: 2000**

"And now I will end my turn by placing one card facedown which means that Grandmaster is destroyed" Evangeline finished as Grandmaster faded from the field "It's your move again"

Rylock narrowed her eyes as she drew her card "This isn't over yet!" she spat "And I'll show you what happens when you make a fool out of me. I play the spell Card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards" Rylock drew two cards from her deck and when she looked at them, she smirked. "It's a shame that one card is all it takes for you to lose all your best monsters. I play the spell card Lightning Vortex, this card allow me to destroy all face up monsters on your field by discarding one card from my hand" Evangeline gasped as Rylock discarded one card from her hand and then a powerful Lightning storm formed around the field and then lightning strikes struck armour the field and destroyed Zanji and Chamberlain. "And now I play another spell card in my hand, Monster Reborn, this allows me to bring my Anu Piranha back from the grave" the warrior woman returned to the field "And now I summon X-Saber Airbellum in attack mode" an armoured tiger with metal clawed gloves on his hands appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1600 Defence 200). "And to protect myself from that facedown, I'll destroy it with Mystical Space Typhoon" a blue whirlwind blew Evangeline's facedown which turned out to be Mirror Force off the field. "And now you're wide open, so now my monsters will attack you directly" Rylock ordered and smirked as her monsters charged forward. Anu Piranha slashed Evangeline with her sword while Airbellum slashed her with his claws and the attacks threw Evangeline to the ground and she groaned in pain.

 **Evangeline: 400  
Rylock: 2000**

"Evangeline!" Solona gasped and then narrowed her eyes at Rylock "How could you do something like that and be happy about it"

Rylock smirked "It's my job" she stated "I do whatever Commander Meredith orders me to do and I serve loyally. "I was ordered to bring in the traitor and the runaway and that's what I'll do. As soon as I beat her, I will defeat you and I'm not like that fool you defeated back in Kirkwall. Then the two of you will be coming back with us where your fate will be decided by the Court"

Evangeline then managed to push herself up "You'll have to beat us first" she hissed "This Duel's not over and I'm not giving up"

"Maybe you should" Rylock sneered "It would be so much easier"

"I never liked doing things the easy way" Evangeline smirked as she drew her next card "And first of all, I'm going to summon Six Samurai Irou in attack mode" a Samurai warrior wearing dark clothing and wielding a large Katana appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200). "And now I play the spell card Double Summon which allows me to normal summon twice this turn, though I may not have any more monsters in my hand, I do have this, the spell Card of Demise, now I can draw until I have five cards in my hand though I have to discard my entire hand in five turns but this duel will be over by then." Evangeline drew until she held five cards in her hand "And it's even better now because I can summon Six Samurai Kamon in attack mode" a Samurai warrior wearing orange-red armour appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 1000) "And now since I control two Six Samurai warriors, I can summon the master of all the Six Samurai. The great teacher and the person the Samurai follow. I summon Great Shogun Shien in attack mode" a red armoured Samurai warrior with a flame on top of his head appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 2400).

Solona gasped as now she saw that Evangeline was in a good position to win.

"Shien, destroy Anu once again" Evangeline ordered and then the Shogun slashed his Katana and slashed Anu in two who then shattered

 **Evangeline: 400  
Rylock: 1300**

"Then Irou will destroy Airbellum" Evangeline added and Irou slashed Airbellum with his Katana

 **Evangeline: 400  
Rylock: 1200**

"And now you're wide open, finish him Kamon" Evangeline ordered and then Kamon lit some kind of grenade and threw it towards Rylock and then it exploded and blew Rylock onto her back

 **Evangeline: 400 (Winner)  
Rylock: 0000**

Evangeline smirked as Rylock fell to the ground "I win"

Rylock looked at Evangeline and Solona with hate in her eyes "Maybe so but you can't defeat all of us. We can't defeat you in a duel so let's see how the two of you do in a battle" she then turned to the other people with her "Get your monsters out and prepare for battle" the other Warrior Faction soldiers activated their own duel disks and place monsters into them and then a whole range of different Warrior type monsters appeared on the field. Evangeline stood in front of Solona and activated her duel disk, but then a blast came from the hills which destroyed one of the monsters on the Warrior's field.

Solona turned to see several Sea Serpent monsters including several Water Dragons that her friend Bastion used back at Duel Academy and several other Sea Serpent monsters which all then fired blasts of water which destroyed the Warrior monsters. Solona watched as several people emerged from the over the hills and were led by a red haired man dressed in smart clothing "You Warriors are not welcome here" the man said to Rylock and his group "Meredith has sent many Warriors onto my lands and we always repel them. Go back to Kirkwall and tell Meredith that she will not take my lands."

Rylock narrowed her eyes at the man "One of these days we will take your lands and when we do, those cards will be ours and we will show the Spellcasters what happens when you defy the Warriors" she then left with her men and the man then turned to Solona and Evangeline.

"How did you find us?" Evangeline asked

The man looked at her "Tomas said he spotted a Warrior patrol entering my lands. So I decided to lead a group and find out what they were doing and that led us to you." He then looked at Solona with suspicion "And who is this?"

Evangeline looked at Solona "Solona, this is Teagan Guerrin, he's the ruler of Redcliffe which was where we're going." She then looked at the man now called Teagan "Teagan, this is Solona, I helped her escape Kirkwall when the Warriors tried to capture her, she seems to Duel with a Dragon deck which is why those Warriors were chasing us but she's from an isolated group so she has no idea about what's going on"

Teagan looked at Solona "Anyone who hates the Warriors is a friend of mine" he stated "Now we must get back to Redcliffe before Meredith sends more warriors here. I can explain more when we get back"

Solona nodded and then she followed Teagan and the others to this place called Redcliffe. Hopefully she will be able to learn about where she was and if there was a way to get back home.

...

Over in the Mountain regions, Kallian Tabris wandered around but was running out of energy. She was tired and getting thirsty and hungry from climbing over hills and wanted a rest as well as a drink and something to eat. She then spotted a group of people in the distance but was unable to try and call for help because of how exhausted she was. She thought they were a mirage but then they seemed to be getting closer and then she collapsed from tiredness. The last thing she saw before she fell asleep were a few people standing above her with concerned looks on their faces.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: another chapter finished and I'm sorry with how long this one took but it was hard to write since I was using decks I didn't know very well. And I had trouble choosing the decks as well. But this is the first chapter in the world known as the Dimension of Dragons and the history of this world will be shown in the next chapter. Now I know I'm using more characters and places from the Dragon Age games but this will not be a complete crossover since this world is based on Thedas, it is not Thedas itself and the story is different as well. The world is split into several factions with each one based on a monster type. Originally, Rylock was going to use Harpie Ladies but that's a Wing Beast deck. Also, Evangeline will only use the simple Six Samurai since another major character will use an upgraded version with either Secret or Legendary Six Samurai.**


	12. A World at War

**A World of War:**

Daylen Amell groaned as he woke up from travelling through the portal. He looked around to see that he was in some kind of countryside. But this sight was a site that could be seen in the world so he was a bit worried that he hadn't travelled to this other Dimension. But he did know that he wasn't at Duel Academy Island since most of the island was a forest. But he grew concerned when he couldn't see any of the others from the group. But soon he saw his friend Aedan lying nearby though he was a bit confused by what Aedan was wearing. Instead of his Obelisk Blue uniform, he wore some kind of suit of armour like a medieval warrior did. Daylen then Saw Neria lying nearby as well who was just starting to wake up and her Ra Yellow uniform had changed into some kind of brown tunic, but what caught Daylen's eyes were her ears, they had become longer and pointier just like an elf from stories.

Daylen walked over to Aedan and began shaking him "Hey, Aedan, wake up"

Aedan groaned as he woke up and then he looked and saw Daylen kneeling next to him "Daylen?" he questioned as he sat up "Did the portal work, did we make it to this new Dimension?"

Daylen looked at him "I think we did" he stated "This place defiantly isn't Duel Academy island and take a look at up" Aedan looked at Daylen and Neria and was shocked to see the two of them wearing robes while Neria also had elf ears.

Aedan was even more confused at seeing that he wore a suit of armour "Why have our clothes changed and why does Neria look like an elf"

"I don't know myself" Neria stated as she felt her ears "These ears feel so weird." Then she grew concerned "Wait, where is everyone else? I though more of us were coming than just us three."

Daylen's eyes narrowed "Did Alexius go back on his word?" he growled "If he has, he'll wish he was never born when I get my hands on him"

"Well you'll have to wait until we get back" Aedan stated "And we should try and find the others as well as Solona and fast. Remember what Alexius said, if we wait too long then we may not be able to get back"

Neria looked at Aedan "Look, I agree that we have to find the others" she claimed "But we have no idea where we are. Maybe we should try and learn more about this place and then we might get a better idea of where the others are."

Daylen thought for a moment, he really wanted to find his sister but he knew that Neria was right, they had to find out more about this place otherwise they would end up getting lost and so he looked at the others "Neria's right" he stated "We need to find out more but where do we go first?"

Aedan then saw smoke in the distance "Look there" he called "Smoke, that could me that there is someone there"

"Maybe they can help us" Neria stated "But we should be careful, we don't know who those people are so let's be ready for anything" Aedan and Daylen agreed with her and they began heading in the direction of the smoke to see if there was someone there who could help them.

...

In an area far away from Daylen, Aedan and Neria; Solona was led into some kind of town by Evangeline and the man known as Teagan. Teagan was very friendly towards Solona but was also cautious and Solona suspected that this may have been because of the war that was going on. The town was full of life; stalls were set up with people buying things from them. This town was also next to a large lake where there must have been a lot of fish as fishermen were along the lake fishing or were fishing in boats. But what caught Solona's eye was the massive stone castle that overlooked the town. The Castle overlooked the town from a cliff which made it a very defendable castle.

"So, welcome to Redcliffe" Teagan stated "I'll get a room set up for you at the castle, you are my guest"

Solona looked at Teagan in shock "There is no need for that" she stated "I'll be fine with just staying at the Inn here"

Teagan sighed "That won't be possible" he stated and then he walked towards a large buildings which seemed to be the local inn for the village and Solona could see why Teagan said that staying here was impossible, the Inn was filled with many people who did not have homes. Healers were helping save injured men in a storage room, which had been turned into an infirmary while woman sat with crying children who they tried to calm down "This village has many refugees coming from the war, as a result we've little room left."

Solona looked at him "So can you tell me more about this war?" she asked

It was Evangeline who spoke "For many years this World has existed with many different factions." She claimed "Legend says that many years ago, the Dragon faction ruled this world, some say peacefully, some say with an Iron Fist but they kept order as they kept the smaller factions from fighting each other. But one day, several new factions arrived who used new types of monsters filed with demons and undead."

Solona realised that these factions must be based around a monster type and that these new factions must mean Fiend and Zombie type monsters.

Evangeline carried on "The Dragon Faction put up a fight and were winning for a time until their ancient Dragon God cards got stolen from their sacred temples and corrupted, so now their best monsters were used to destroy the Dragon Faction and left the world ready for conquer. But the most powerful of the lower factions, the Warriors and the Spellcasters took up the fight and were eventually able to defeat these new Factions."

Teagan then carried on "Peace had arrived but it was to be short lived, the Warriors and the Spellcasters began to fight each other and eventually, they settled a truce, the Warriors rule the Eastern lands from their capital of Kirkwall while the Spellcasters rule the West from Cumberland. The many small factions live in the lands between them as a buffer. There have been tensions but never war until now when Knight Commander Meredith, the leader of the Warrior Faction declared war on the Spellcaster Faction, she believed that they were going to take over the world and now the war is being fought in the buffer lands."

"Both sides are just as bad as each other" Evangeline claimed "They attack innocent groups, take the duellists so they can force them into the army and others they used special tools to seal them inside crystal balls and use them for power."

Solona gasped, that was just like the Shadow Games she had endured back at home, now she understood, Duelling in this world was not a game, it was used for war.

"This had resulted in many people fleeing towards the more defendable areas of these lands" Teagan stated "Redcliffe has taken many refugees but even we have been attacked several times but have repelled them"

"Why has this place been attacked several times?" Solona asked

Teagan answered that "Redcliffe is a very defendable castle" he stated "It also has a strategic location; if either the Spellcaster or Warrior Faction gained control of the region then they would have access to the other region. Redcliffe is at the area of the Buffer lands where the gap between the two major faction lands is smallest so they could then attack which is why we've had to fight both sides. But the Warrior faction has sent the most attacks for another reason"

"And what is this reason?" Solona asked

Evangeline answered this one "Even though the Dragon Faction collapsed, there are still some Dragon cards around the world but they are rare which is why you got our interest since your deck has dragons in it. But we have a few Dragon cards here in Redcliffe which the Warrior Faction wants to get hold of but we have refused to allow them to have them. We just don't trust them not to use them in the wrong way."

Solona looked at them after they finished telling her the tale; it was clear that she was now in another world and had to find a way home. But after what she heard, she knew that she had to do something to help these people, she couldn't just watch as they were being hunted so she looked at Teagan "I will do whatever I can to help" she claimed "If those Warriors or Spellcasters show up then I will help fight them off."

Teagan smiled "Thank you" he stated "Now I think I should introduce you to the other duellists here, they'll be eager to meet you."

...

Daylen along with Neria and Aedan carried on walking towards the smoke but when they got to what was causing the smoke, they were in for a shock, it was a village with wooden houses that were all burning and the flames were engulfing every building.

"The village!" Aedan gasped "It's been destroyed"

Neria looked around in horror "What happened here?" she wondered "It looks like this place has been used as a battlefield."

Aedan looked around "It may be best we get out of here" he stated "Whatever happened, it looks like this fight happened recently and whoever was fighting might still be nearby"

Aedan was right as soon they soon heard an angry shout "You shall pay for this!" this got everyone curious and so they ran towards where the shouting was heard and they soon came across two people, a man and a woman, standing another woman and there was a duel going on between the two women

One woman had short black hair and wore some kind of magical robes and also had a tattoo on her cheek, she also had Breaker the Magical Warrior on the field and 1200 life points left according to the duel. The other woman has short red hair but had two monsters on her field, Harpie Queen and Cyber Harpie Lady and had 500 life points left.

"Go on Anais, beat her" the boy cheered

The woman with the Harpie ladies who was called Anais smirked "Cyber Harpie, destroy Grace's Breaker" the Cyber Harpy Lady swooped towards Breaker and swipe him with her claws and destroyed the monster.

 **Anais: 500  
Grace: 1000**

"And now Harpy Queen, end this" Anais ordered and then Harpy Queen swooped throw Grace who then fell to her knees

 **Anais: 500 (Winner)  
Grace: 0000**

"No!" Grace yelled "How can I lose like this"

"Because all you're good at is attacking innocent people like this village" Anais hissed

Grace narrowed her eyes "Even though I lost to you, Master Decimus still has the people here for his power. And soon he will have more victims" she then used the power from her duel disk to vanish.

"She got away" the man with Anais hissed "Now we're never rescue those people"

Anais sighed "We can't save everyone" she stated "We have to save who we can; this war is getting worse and worse." It was then that she turned around and gasped when she saw Daylen, Neria and Aedan, she quickly activated her Duel Disk "Who are you?" she demanded "Are you here to try and kidnap more people"

"Whoa hey hold on!" Aedan protested "We're not here to cause trouble"

"Oh really?" Anais questioned and looked at Aedan's outfit "Are you one of those Warriors, who has been sent to harass us, you're just as bad as these Spellcasters"

"We don't want any trouble" Daylen stated "We saw the smoke in the distance and wonder what was going on, we hoped we could find some directions"

"And where were you planning on going?" Anais questioned "Not many safe places around here since the war began"

The man placed a hand on Anais' should which calmed her down "Anais wait, these people might be those friends that that girl spoke of"

"Girl, what girl?" Daylen questioned as hope rose inside him, it could be his sister was fine

The man carried on "A girl we rescued a while back, she was tired and scared as she had no idea where she was. She had auburn hair and was quite kind to people when she woke up" the hope diminished in Daylen as Solona did not have auburn hair and then the man carried on "She called herself Kal, Kal..." it seemed he could not remember the name

"Her name was Kallian Clemence" Anais sighed

That caught Aedan's interest "Kallian, Kallian Tabris?"

The man known as Clemence nodded "That was her name"

Aedan widened her eyes and turned to Daylen and Neria "What is she doing here?" he wondered "She wasn't meant to be here"

Clemence looked at them "If Kallian is your friend then we will take you to her"

"But be warned" Anais hissed "If you try anything then you'll face the wrath of my birds"

"We understand" Neria stated and then the three of them followed Anais and Clemence

...

Theorn Maheriel carried on walking through the forest. No matter what he did he still couldn't find a way out and this forest seemed to go on forever. He had to find a way soon as he had no food and would not be able to survive without water for long. Eventually, he came to a river and he gasped as this meant he could finally have a drink so he knelt at the edge of the river but then realised that this water may not be fresh but he had to try. He cupped his hands and pulled a bit of water and quickly drank it, the taste was not the best but it wasn't salt water so it was safe to drink. He quickly drank some more and then decided that he would follow the river in order to find a way out of the forest.

...

The woman known as Anais led Daylen, Neria and Aedan through a small mountain pass which came towards the place where Anais' group called home. Their home was a place called Winterwatch tower, a small square keep in the Mountains that was home to a group of people led by Anais and where refugees had come.

"Welcome to Winterwatch Tower" Anais welcomed the group "It's not much but it's the safest place around here for miles. With the war raging throughout the lands, most people flee for the safety of the larger areas."

Daylen looked around and saw that there were many people who looked liked they had lost their homes in this war and had only been able to bring a few things with them. Children were crying while their mothers held them letting them know that they were safe. Neria was heartbroken at seeing this but she had no idea on what to do.

Anais then went to a small building which Aedan could see was being used as an Infirmary as there were many injured people in there "Hey Kallian" Anais called "There's a few people out here which you might what to meet"

Anais then came back as a red haired teenage girl followed her, as soon as Aedan, Daylen and Neria saw her, they all gasped as saw that it was indeed their friend Kallian Tabris

Kallian gasped when she saw her friends and ran towards "Aedan!" he shouted "Daylen, Neria! I'm so glad that you found me"

Aedan smiled at Kallian "We're glad to see that you're okay Kallian" he stated

Daylen looked at her "Kallian, what happened back at Duel Academy?" he asked "You weren't supposed to come here with us"

Kallian sighed "The Venatori knew that we were creating a portal and so they caused it to overpower, it sucked everyone in except for Cassandra, Dorian, Daniel, Sheppard and Alexius. Everyone else got pulled in including me"

"So what happened to you?" Neria asked "And do you have any idea where everyone else is?"

Kallian shook her head "No, when I woke up I was alone. I was in the mountains and I tried to find someone who could help. Eventually I got tired out but Anais found me and brought me back here. She told me about what's going on with this world, part of me wants to help them but we need to find the others"

"She's right" Aedan stated "Alexius said that if we didn't get back home in time then we might be trapped here for a long time"

Anais walked over to them "So there are more of you?" she asked

"There are" Daylen stated "My sister got kidnapped and we've come looking for her. But we all got separated."

Anais looked at them "I'm sorry but you friends may already be gone, this world is no longer safe due to the war. If your friends are duellists then they may have been forced into the armies or captured by the Warrior Faction. Anyone else just gets sealed into orbs by the Warriors." She then sighed "The main Spellcaster Faction is fair to the people but a large number have broken off into groups of raiders."

Neria looked at the others "Maybe one of these Raider Groups knows where our friends are" she suggested

Aedan sighed "Well it's better than just wandering around with no ideas"

Anais was shocked "Wait, you mean you want to find one of these Raiding groups?" she asked

"We do" Daylen stated "They may have information that can help us find the others in my group"

Anais sighed "Well I'm coming with you" she stated "I know these people and I know where they can be found"

Aedan, Daylen, Neria and Kallian looked at her and knew that there was no way they could talk her out of this and besides, they would need someone who could help guide them through these lands.

...

Later, the five of them were walking along the Mountain sides where they could see some caves. This did seem like the perfect place for a group of duellists who attacked people and then fled into hiding would use as a base as it was well hidden.

"So they're somewhere in these caves?" Aedan questioned

"They should be here somewhere" Anais confirmed "But I don't know which cave as there are many of them around here"

But then Neria saw smoke in the distance and so she pointed it out "Hey, look!" he called "Smoke, they may have already made another attack"

The five of them ran towards the smoke and sure enough, they were right, there had been another attack. Four figures surrounded a burning House and a few people had been dragged out. They could recognise Grace who they had seen before but only Anais knew the others.

"That's them" Anais claimed "I remember Grace but the other two people with the leader are known as Huon and Evelina" Huon was a bald man with tattoos on his face while Evelina was a woman with long red hair. "And the man in front of them is the leader of this group, Decimus, he's one of the worst people you could meet, he claims he fights for the Spellcaster and against tyranny but all he does it raid settlements and use them for rituals. He's a skilled talker and was able to convince others to join him" Decimus was a tall man with very pale brown hair, almost orange along with a thick beard and lying in front of him were a few prisoners that had been captured.

"Well done my followers" Decimus sneered "Now we have more victims in order to create more power"

The prisoners who sat on the floor had tears in their eyes as Decimus stood before them with his arm raised and the Duel Disk activated "No please!" one begged "We did nothing to you." But the man's pleading fell on deaf ears when Decimus pressed a button and a bright light glowed from the disk and over the prisoners, they all screamed before they vanished into particles and reappeared as small crystals in Decimus' hands and then he handed one to each of his followers.

Aedan and the others were horrified at this, what those people just did was horrible and it was like the Shadow Games, they had just turned those innocent people into small crystals. Kallian screamed in fright but Daylen covered her mouth with his hand as it might alert them.

But they had heard the sound and turned around, Decimus smirked in delight "Well, it looks like we have a few more with me"

Grace then spotted Anais "And it's better sir" she sneered "That's the leader of that group up in the mountains"

Huon smirked "If we take her out that will allow us to attack that tower"

"And we'll gain more crystals" Evelina added

But before any of them could take a step forward, Aedan stepped forward and blocked their path "You will not harm another individual here!" he spat "How could you have done that to those people, what have they ever done to you"

"If we're going to destroy the Warrior Faction then we need power" Decimus stated

"And these people hold plenty of it" Grace sneered

"It was the Warrior Faction who started this war" Huon growled

"And so the blood of these people is on their hands" Evelina stated

Aedan just narrowed his eyes "That doesn't give you the right to attack innocent people and turn them into crystals! That makes you no better than the ones you're fighting"

Decimus laughed "It won't matter because you'll be joining them soon"

Aedan stayed silent until he raised his arm and activated his Duel Disk "Not if I beat you in a duel"

Decimus smirked "So you want a duel?" he questioned "Very well, maybe you'll at least put up a fight; it's been a while since I had a challenge." He stepped forward and then activated his own Duel Disk and drew five cards from his deck.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Aedan: 8000  
Decimus: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Decimus sneered as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Defender the Magical Knight in attack mode" a magical warrior wearing blue and yellow armour and carrying a shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 2000) "And since he was summoned, I can add a Spell Counter to him" (DTMK: SC: 1) "And then I will play the field spell Magical Citadel of Endymion" the field changed into a large magical school with magical towers "Now whenever a spell card is added, I can add a Spell Counter to this card. Now I will place one card facedown and end my turn"

"My move" Aedan hissed as he drew his card "And I summon my Knight Templar in attack mode" a warrior with the symbol of a flaming sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1400)

"A Warrior deck?" Grace spat "You must be a member of the Warrior faction!"

Aedan narrowed his eyes "I'm not a member of that group but I still fight those who hurt innocent people. Now attack that Defender"

Decimus laughed "You fool" he stated "You'll only destroy your own monster as our monster attack points are the same. And when you attack a spellcaster monster, I can remove my Defender's Spell Counter in order to prevent my Spellcaster from being destroyed" (DTMK: SC: 0)

Aedan smirked "No, you will be taking damage" he stated "Because when my Knight Templar attacks a spell caster, he gains 500 attack points" the Templar glowed as he gained power (KT Attack: 1600-2100) then the warrior's sword slice through the Spellcaster and destroyed the monster.

 **Aedan: 8000  
Decimus: 7500**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing down a facedown" Aedan finished

"All right" Kallian cheered "Some damage and a good monster"

"But we'll just have to see what else this man does" Daylen stated "But even so, Aedan's deck is perfect for duelling against Spellcasters"

Decimus narrowed his eyes "So you dealt me a bit of damage" he snorted "Big Deal, I still have more cards to play, like this for example, I summon Crusader of Endymion in attack mode" an orange coloured skinned warrior with thick blue armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1200) "And once per turn, I can activate his special ability, so now I get to add a spell counter to one of my cards that requires a spell card so I'll give my defender one which will allow me to protect my monsters again" (DTMK SC: 1) "And now Crusader gains 600 attack points until the end of this turn" (COE Attack: 1900-2500) "And now Crusader, destroy that Templar with Magical Fist" Crusader's arm glowed bright blue and then he slammed his fist into the Templar and shattered him.

 **Aedan: 7100  
Decimus: 7500**

"And now your field is empty" Decimus sneered "So now my Defender will attack you directly" Defender's shield glowed as he charged forward towards Aedan

But Aedan was ready "I play my facedown, A Hero Emerges, now you select one card in my hand and if it's a monster then I get to summon it"

Decimus looked at his hand and decided "I select the far left"

Aedan looked at the far left card and groaned as it was his spell card Lyrium sword so he couldn't summon a monster.

Decimus smirked "So I selected the right card so you can't summon a monster to stop my Defender's direct attack. Now attack him directly" Defender's shield glowed and then he charged into Aedan and threw him backwards and he fell onto his back.

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 7500**

"And now I will end my turn" Decimus finished "Which means my Crusader's attack points return to normal" (COE Attack 2500-1900)

"Oh man!" Kallian groaned "Decimus is winning and Aedan has no monsters"

"And Decimus can protect his spellcasters thanks to that Defender" Anais stated

Daylen shook his head "Don't count Aedan out yet" he stated "His deck is just perfect to fight against a Spellcaster deck"

Aedan pushed himself up "Just because you have me at a disadvantage doesn't mean that I've lost yet" he hissed "My draw" he drew his next card and smirked "I'll start by summoning Knight Captain in attack mode. He may be a level 6 monster but because you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon him" a heavily armoured warrior wearing armour with a flaming sword engraved and helmet appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1900) "And I still have my normal summon so I summon Knight Corporal in attack mode." Another warrior appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1500) "And now I'll equip him with Lyrium sword with gives him an extra 500 attack points" The Corporal's sword changed into a glowing blue sword (KC Attack 1900-2400)

Decimus smirked "Since a spell card has been activated, I get to add a Spell Counter to my Citadel" a light of one of the Citadel towers started glowing (MCOE SC: 1)

"And now my Corporal will attack your Defender" Aedan ordered and then the Corporal swung his blade but it bounced off the armour.

Decimus laughed "Did you forget that by sacrificing my counter, I can prevent the destruction of my Defender" he sneered

Aedan smirked "That effect only works once" he stated as the counter vanished from defender "And you still take damage."

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 6600**

"And my Captain can still attack" Aedan added "Now attack that Crusader" the Captain swung his own sword and slashed the Crusader which then shattered

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 6000**

Kallian, Daylen, Neria and Anais looked on "Why did Aedan go for that Crusader and not the Defender?" Kallian asked

"Because that Crusader can add a Spell Counter to any card that requires one" Daylen stated "And then it boasts Crusader's power so Aedan needed to take it out"

Aedan looked at Decimus "I end my turn there so make your next move"

Decimus narrowed his eyes 'I don't have many monsters so I guess I will have to wait for my best monster' he thought as he drew his card. "I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards, and this also gives my Citadel another spell counter" Decimus drew two more cards and another tower started glowing (MCOE SC: 2). "And now I summon Guardian of Endymion in defence mode" a red armoured magical warrior with a large shield appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 4 Attack 500 Defence 1500). "And when he is summoned, I can add a Spell Counter to him and when he has a spell counter, his defence points increase by 500" Guardian glowed as he gained more defence (GOE Defence 1500-2000) "Then I will end my turn by switching my Defender to Defence mode" Defender the Magical Knight knelt down behind his shield.

Aedan drew his card "I'll start this turn by playing the spell card Monster Reincarnation, now by discarding one card, I can add my Knight Templar back to my hand." Aedan discarded a card and got his Knight Templar back to his hand but this also caused another tower on the Citadel to start glowing (MCOE SC: 3). "And now I will summon back my Templar in attack mode" the Templar returned to the field. "And now I will start attacking, first my Corporal will attack that Defender and when Corporal attacks a monster in defence mode, the different between my Corporal's attack points and your monster's defence points is dealt to you as damage" The Corporal's sword slice through Defender's shield and threw the knight back who then shattered.

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 5600**

"And now my Knight Templar will attack your Guardian and since Guardian is a spellcaster, my Templar gains 500 attack points thanks to his special ability" Aedan ordered and the Knight Templar slice through the Defender and destroyed him.

Decimus smirked "My Guardian still had a Spell Counter with him." He stated "So now that Counter is added to my Citadel instead" another tower lit up on the Citadel (MCOE SC: 4)

Aedan smiled "But now you are wide open, so now my Knight Captain will attack you directly" The Captain swung his sword around and then slashed Decimus and threw him backwards causing him to groan

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 3100**

"Decimus!" Grace yelled

"How dare he strike our master like that!" Huon hissed

"They'll pay for this!" Evelina shouted

Aedan shook his head "That's how this works" he stated "Now I will end my turn by placing one card facedown"

Kallian smirked "Aedan's got three powerful monsters on his field and more life points"

Anais smiled "I see what you mean about your friend being a skilled duellist"

"Aedan just has determination" Daylen claimed "And he can't stand innocent people getting hurt"

Neria was worried however "But this duel isn't over yet and we shouldn't get cocky yet, anything can happen"

Decimus smirked as he had heard that "You sure are right little girl" he stated and ignored Neria's glare at being called a little girl "Anything can happen and now the playing field has been set up, it means that I've ready to being out the master Magician. First off, I play the Spell Card Lightning Vortex so now by discarding one card from my hand; I get to destroy all monsters on your field." A huge thunderstorm shook the field as Lightning Strikes destroyed Aedan's Templar, Corporal and Captain. But Corporal's sword shot into the air and stabbed Decimus before shattering.

 **Aedan: 5500  
Decimus: 2600**

Decimus narrowed his eyes at Aedan "Just what was that?" he demanded

Aedan smirked "That was the effect of Lyrium Sword" he stated "Since it was just destroyed, it deals you 500 points of damage"

Decimus narrowed his eyes "No matter, your field is now empty and another Spell Counter is added to my Citadel" another tower started glowing (MCOE SC: 5) "And now I summon Endymion's Apprentice in attack mode" a male wizard wearing a long black robe appeared on the field with a staff ready to cast magic (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1500). "And now his special ability activates so he gets a spell counter." (EA SC: 1) "And now I will activate his ability which allows me to sacrifice the token and get back my Crusader from the grave" the Crusader returned to the field "Next I will play another spell card, Endymion's staff which gives my Apprentice an extra 500 attack points" The staff that the apprentice held turned into a much more warrior like staff (EA Attack: 1500-2000)

"Oh no!" Daylen gasped "Aedan is in trouble now!"

Decimus smirked "And it gets worse for you" he sneered "Since another spell card was played, my Citadel gets yet another spell counter" the final tower on the Citadel glowed (MCOE SC: 6) "And now it's time to bring out the true master of this Citadel, servants are one thing but the great master himself is another and now that he has the power, he can come out, the card I discarded earlier with Lightning vortex was the master himself so now I remove 6 spell counters from my Citadel in order to summon Endymion the Master Magician in attack mode." The towers stopped glowing and then there was a flash of light as the master himself stepped out. The Master Magician wore black armour and wielded a large staff (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 1700) "And since he was special summoned, I get to add my Lightning Vortex in my grave back to my hand." The spell card which had turned the Duel around in Decimus' favour returned to his hand.

Kallian was worried "Three monsters, Aedan can't withstand that"

Decimus smirked "It's over, with these attacks, your life points will be finished and you will be added to my collection of crystals. Crusader attack!" The Crusader sent a blue ball of magic which blew Aedan backwards.

 **Aedan: 3600  
Decimus: 2600**

"And next my Apprentice will attack directly" Decimus added and then the Apprentice took his staff and swung it around which then sent a large ball of magic which blew Aedan backwards and he landed on his back.

 **Aedan: 1600  
Decimus: 2600**

"Aedan!" Kallian yelled

Anais looked worried "If that last attack goes through then he's finished"

"There's nothing you can do!" Decimus yelled "I think the Master deserves to finish you off, you've shown that your Warriors are no match for the might of magic, now finish him off." Endymion swung his own staff around and a blast of black lightning was sent towards Aedan and then the field was covered in smoke.

Decimus and his group all sneered "The master did it!" Huon cheered "He won"

"That's it, well done!" Grace added

Daylen, Neria, Kallian and Anais looked on in horror "Aedan!" Kallian cried

"I can't believe it" Neria gasped "He lost"

But then the smoke cleared and they saw that Aedan was still standing though he was holding his breath and his life points hadn't changed

"What!" Decimus growled "What happened, why didn't you fall down, you should have no more life points left."

Aedan gave a weak laugh "It's a good thing I had something ready to protect me" he stated as he pointed to a trap card that he had just activated "Spirit of the Knight activated when you declared that last attack, now I was able to save myself by activating it which removes my Knight Captain from the graveyard and he takes the attack instead and is removed from play" he showed his Knight Captain card which he then placed in his pocket"

Decimus growled in annoyance "Never mind, next turn you are through, you know what I have in my hand"

"That's right" Grace mocked "no matter what you summon, Lightning Vortex will leave your field empty and ready for another direct attack"

"Maybe you should just give up" Huon suggested

Daylen narrowed his eyes "That will never happen!" he snapped "Aedan will never surrender even when the odds are against him"

"He's right" Aedan stated 'but I have to draw something good otherwise this duel is over' he thought and then he drew his card which made him smirk "I activate the spell card Foolish Burial, this allows me to send one monster in my deck to my graveyard and so I choose to send my Command Knight to the Graveyard" Aedan discarded his Command Knight.

"Just what is your friend doing?" Anais questioned

Daylen realised it as he remembered a monster that Aedan had played when he and Solona had duelled him and Sereda during their promotion duel "Wait, I think he's about to summon one of his most powerful monsters"

Aedan smirked "I now remove my Command Knight along with my Knight Templar from play" the two cards came from the graveyard and Aedan placed them in his pocket "This allows me to summon one of my most powerful monsters." The field was engulfed in bright light "Leader of the Templers and blessed with Divine Will, come on out and spread the word. I summon Knight Divine in attack mode" an armoured warrior wearing a white and red robe and holding a ceremonial sword appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 3000 Defence 2800) "And now I will activate his special ability, you're not the only one who can clear the field because now by paying 1000 life points, I can destroy every card on your field" Decimus gasped as bright light was emitted through the Knight Divine which caused his monsters to groan before shattering.

 **Aedan: 600  
Decimus: 2600**

"Oh no!" Huon yelled "Master!"

"And now with your monsters gone, you're wide open for an attack" Aedan smirked "Now Knight Divine, end this" Knight Divine swung his sword around and slashed Decimus and threw him backwards.

 **Aedan: 600 (Winner)  
Decimus: 0000**

"It's over" Aedan smiled "I win"

Decimus stood up and glared at Aedan and then sneered "Did you think that I play fair" he stated as he activated his duel disk again "You will become one of my crystals even if I lost"

"Hey!" Daylen shouted "You lost so stop that!"

"Aedan!" Kallian yelled "Leave him alone"

But as Decimus activated his duel disk and a bright light engulfed the field, they all heard Decimus scream and when the light faded, Aedan was still standing while Decimus had disappeared; a small crystal lay on the floor where he stood before.

"Decimus!" Grace yelled as he went and picked up the crystal and narrowed her eyes at Aedan and the group "You'll pay for this!"

Evelina grabbed Grace's shoulder "We'll get them another time but we have to get out of here now"

Grace narrowed her eyes but then ran off with Huon and Evelina around a small hill.

Aedan watched as they left and he looked at Anais "So what should we do?" he asked "Should we go after them?"

Anais shook her head "Without their leader, they won't be much of a threat." She claimed "Decimus was the brains of the team and without him they won't risk attacking."

Aedan watched as they ran off but just as he turned around to head back to the others, there was the sound of a massive explosion and he heard the screams, Aedan turned back to see that the explosion had come from where Decimus' followers had run. "What was that?" he questioned

Anais widened her eyes "It looks like we've got more trouble" she gasped

Aedan knew that this needed to be checked out and ran to where Decimus' followers had come from along with Daylen, Neria, Kallian and Anais. When they came around the hill, they all gasped in shock at what they saw, three crystals lay on the floor and they all saw what looked like Grace, Huon and Evelina inside them. Standing in front of them on a small hill was another man.

This man looked very fit with a body thick with muscle and he wore a suit of armour which made him look like a true warrior. He also had short blond hair and a Duel Disk on his arm. Behind him was some kind of warrior monster that sparkled liked stars.

The man narrowed his eyes at them "So I see that another group of Spellcasters has arrived" he hissed as he got a look at Daylen's clothing "I hope that you're ready to answer for your crimes against this world"

Daylen and the others could only stare at this man and knew that their mission to find Solona had just gotten much more dangerous.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: I'm sorry with how long this chapter took but I've been busy with my studies at University. Also, these chapters are harder to write since this story is my creation and I struggle with these decks, I had to create some Endymion cards for this chapter. This new character introduced at the end will be a recurring character throughout this story and his deck has already been decided. I have a few Warrior decks planned for characters but I still need some for the Spellcasters which will include Fairy decks as well. Updates will be slower as I am now planning to start a new story as well so don't expect updates to be as often but I will try to get chapters finished when I can.**

 **Here are the Created cards for Endymion; Aedan's deck list is on my profile.**

Guardian of Endymion: Spellcaster, Level 4 Attack 500 Defence 1500  
If this card is summoned, add one spell counter to this card (Max 1), this card gains 500 defence if there's a spell counter on this card. Once per turn, remove one spell counter from this card, switch the mode of one monster on the field.

Endymion's Apprentice: Spellcaster, Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200  
if this card is summoned, place one spell counter to him (Max 1). Once per turn, remove one spell counter from this card, special summon 1 and special summon one spellcaster monster in your grave.

Endymion's Staff: Equip spell, Equip only to Endymion the Master Magician or Endymion's Apprentice, that card gains 500 attack points.


	13. The Star Knight:

**The Star Knight:**

Daylen stared at the three crystals on the ground which only a short while ago had been three people. Daylen didn't like those three people but even so, no one deserved this, it was just like the Shadow Games back home, no one deserved to have their soul taken from them and sealed away.

Daylen glared at the man who had turned them into cards "I can't believe that you just turned those people into crystals?" he hissed "How could you have done that"

"They got what they deserved" the man stated "Those people have been attacking settlements all over the region and they needed to pay for those crimes"

"I agree that they needed to pay" Aedan stated "But not like that, no one deserves to suffer a fate like that."

"After what these Spellcasters have done to our peaceful world, they need to learn the consequences" the man claimed "Once they give into the might of the warrior Faction then we shall restore order across this world"

Kallian narrowed her eyes "You're Warrior Faction is no better than the spellcasters!" she snapped "You have people going round and attacking settlements as well"

"Those settlements were harbouring spellcasters and so they will suffer the same fate as they do" the man claimed

Neria narrowed her eyes "You've only just proved to us that you're no better than that Spellcaster we defeated not long ago."

The man narrowed his eyes "I don't know what side you are on but if I find out that you're working with the Spellcasters then I will hunt you down. Now I've got important things to do." He then used the monster behind him to create a bright light which blinded everyone and then when the light faded, he was gone.

Neria looked at where the man had stood before "Just who was that guy?" she questioned

Anais sighed and looked at them "Maybe we should get back to Winterwatch?" she stated "I can explain him to you"

Aedan looked at him "Wait, you know that guy is?" he questioned

"Yes" Anais answered "I do?"

...

Sereda groaned as she sat up. She had a huge headache and he back hurt and when she looked down, she could see why. She was lying in some sort of bed that looked very hard. She looked around her surroundings and saw that she was in some sort of room with the walls made of stone and the only light came from a few lanterns hanging on the wall. She also saw that her clothes had changed into some kind of leather armour and her still had her deck with her. But when she stood up, she saw that her legs seemed smaller than she remembered and so did her arms.

Then a large stone door opened and an old man with a beard entered the room "You better get ready" he stated "You're on soon"

Sereda was confused "Err, I'm on for what?"

The man laughed "You must have hit your head hard" he stated "You're due on for the fight soon. You will be duelling in front of the crowd like everyone else. Make sure you put on a show, they always love that" the man then left leaving a confused Sereda behind.

...

"Now with the power of Polymerization, I fuse the Blue Eyes on my field with the one in my hand in order to summon Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon" Solona stated as she stood in Redcliffe square opposite Evangeline who had Great Shogun Shien on her field. There were many others from the village who were watching the Duel. The two Blue Eyes Dragons appeared on the field and were then sucked into a portal to create a large two headed blue scaled dragon (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2800) "And now my Twin Burst will destroy your Shogun." The heads fired a blast of blue fire which combined into one and destroyed the Samurai warrior.

 **Solona: 5000  
Evangeline: 2000**

"And my Twin Burst can attack twice each turn" Solona stated "Now end this duel" the dragon fired again and blew Evangeline back

 **Solona: 5000 (Winner)  
Evangeline: 0000**

Solona walked over to Evangeline and helped her up "That was a good duel" she stated

"I may have only lasted a few turns but it was a good duel" Evangeline stated

Teagan walked over to her "You sure are skilled at Duelling" he stated "I can see why the Warrior Faction would want to get their hands on you. With cards like that in your deck, it would make you a tough opponent to defeat"

Evangeline looked at her "I'm curious" she claimed "Dragon cards are so rare here and you've got a full deck of them and some of those are the most powerful cards that I've ever seen. How did you get them?"

Solona was conflicted on what to say, she doubted that they would believe that she was from another world "It's err, it's difficult to explain"

"Well at least you're on our side" Teagan stated "And feel free to duel the others, it would help them to get some practise in case we get attacked again."

...

At Winterwatch Tower, Anais had brought Kallian, Neria, Aedan and Daylen to her office which was at the top of the tower. From the window, there was a view all over the Mountain side and you could see small villages in the distance.

"From this tower you can see much of the Buffer lands" Anais stated as she began to point out a few locations starting with a large forest "That's the Brecilian Forest, the largest forest in the region and home of the Dalish groups as we like to call them. Nomad people who uses many different types of decks such as Plant, Beast and Insect." Then she pointed to the distance where Daylen could just see the makings of a desert "And that's the Hissing Wastes, those lands are almost completely lifeless except for wildlife. But that place is also filled with ruins from the time of the Dragon Faction; some say the greatest battles of the war took place in that region. Now it's just a wasteland." Anais then turned around "And the sights are the reason why we've been attacked, from here anyone can see what happens in this area, that makes this tower a good scouting outpost but with only one way to bring an army, it makes it difficult to attack"

Aedan looked at her "You said that you knew that man who we saw before" he stated and Anais nodded

"Who is he?" Neria asked "It sounded like this hatred of the Spellcaster Faction is personal?"

Anais sighed "It is to him" she claimed "His name is Cullen Rutherford, he's one of the highest ranked members of the Warrior Faction's army despite the fact that he's not even from those Faction's lands, he lived here in the Buffer lands."

Kallian gasped "You mean that he lived here?" she gasped

"Well not here at Winterwatch but at a small village called Honnleath that was just south of here" Anais stated

Daylen noticed something with Anais' words "Was south of here?" he questioned

Anais sighed "Year ago there were a few groups from the Spellcaster Faction that wanted to conquer more lands from the Buffer lands. Grand Enchanter Fiona, leader of the Spellcaster Faction rejected their ideas and so they took matters into their own hands. They attacked several areas not far from the Spellcaster Border. Cullen's village was among them. Eventually Fiona's own army suppressed these Extremists but they had already wiped out a few areas. Incidents like that were used by Commander Meredith to claim that the Spellcaster Faction wanted to take over this world."

"And Cullen?" Daylen asked

Anais sighed "Cullen, was the only one to survive the attack on Honnleath" she stated after a few moments "This happened before the war and it scared Cullen who was still young at the time. Meredith found him alone and took him in; she trained him to become the one of the Warrior Faction's best warriors. He's looked down upon in the Faction because he's not from those lands but he still became one of the top Warriors. But Meredith knows that he would go against the Warrior Faction attacking some places which is why he works alone to hunt Spellcasters"

Kallian looked sad at hearing Cullen's story and how he lost his family and home at a young age. She could see why Cullen hated the Spellcasters

"Wait, if Cullen's not as bad as the others, couldn't he be reasoned with?" Neria suggested

Anais sighed "I don't know" she admitted "He takes his fight against the Spellcasters personally."

"Maybe if I duel him I can show him that not all Spellcasters are not as bad" Daylen claimed

Neria shook her head "I don't think that's a good idea Daylen" she claimed "Your deck is made up entirely of Spellcasters; it won't help convince him at all."

"Kallian and I both had Warrior decks" Aedan claimed "That won't help convince him at all."

Neria thought and then had an idea "My deck is a mixture of different types" she stated "Maybe I can help him"

Anais sighed "I see that I cannot stop you from doing this but I must warn you to be careful" she stated "Cullen is a very skilled Duellist."

"So is Neria" Daylen smiled "She can take care of herself"

Anais looked at them "Then I wish you good luck and I will say that you will be welcome here if you return"

"Thank you Anais" Kallian said "And if you need our help then we will come and help" she then left the tower along with Daylen, Neria and Aedan.

...

After leaving Winterwatch tower, Neria led the group along the Mountain path to try and find Cullen. Neria hoped that she could get through to him using her deck which was a mix of different Monster Types.

"Where do you think we will find him?" Kallian asked

"He couldn't have gotten far" Neria stated "He has to be somewhere around this area"

"Unless he's already gone back to this Kirkwall" Aedan claimed "I sure hopes he hasn't otherwise we'll be going around in circles."

Then they heard an explosion come from nearby which Daylen saw and he pointed to where he saw it "He might be just where that explosion came from" he stated "That's either him or another group of Spellcasters ambushing someone"

The group of four ran towards the explosion and saw that it was indeed Cullen who was standing above a defeated Duellist. Cullen raised his Duel Disk above the Duellist "Now Spellcaster, do you have any last words?"

The spellcaster looked at Cullen "Please, I didn't even do anything wrong"

Cullen narrowed his eyes "All you Spellcasters are the same." He snarled "You shall pay for the pain you've inflicted on the people of this world" his duel disk then glowed and the Spellcaster vanished and all that was left was a small crystal which Cullen then picked up.

Neria watched in horror as Cullen carded his opponent and before anyone could stop her, she came out of their hiding spot "That enough!" she shouted

Cullen heard the shout and turned to see Neria "I thought I told you that if I found out that you're working for the Spellcasters then I will hunt you down"

"This has nothing to do with that!" Neria hissed "What you are doing is wrong; you can't just go around turning people into crystals just because they're Spellcasters."

"I'm doing my duty to protect this world" Cullen stated

Neria narrowed her eyes "You're only doing what you think is right" she claimed "I know what happened in your past and if I was in your place, I would want revenge. But hunting down every Spellcaster is not the way to go."

"What do you know about my family?" Cullen snarled "I watched them die right in front of me"

Neria sighed "I wouldn't know really, my parents and I don't like each other. I want to show you the error of what you are doing. I still see good in you so I guess the best way to get that is to duel you. So what do you say?" Neria then activated her Duel Disk

Cullen looked at you "If you say so though if you're a Spellcaster user then when I defeat you, you will suffer the same fate that they do" Cullen activated his own Duel Disk and the two of them then drew five cards

" **DUEL!"**

 **Neria: 8000  
Cullen: 8000**

"Since you challenged me, I'll take the first move" Cullen stated as he drew his 6th card "And I'll start by summoning Satellarknight Vega in attack mode" a warrior that glowed bright like the stars and wielding a large hoop weapon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1600) "And since he was summoned, I can summon another Tellarknight monster from my hand so now Satellarknight Procyon appears on the field" a small orange Warrior with a hoop appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1300 Defence 1200) "And when he is summoned, I can send my Satellarknight Alsahm in my hand to the grave and draw one card" Cullen discarded his card and then drew one extra card "And I will end my turn by placing one card facedown" a facedown card appeared in front of Cullen.

Aedan watched the Duel and he looked at Daylen "Hey, have you ever heard of these Satellarknight cards?" he asked

Daylen shook his head "No, I've never heard of such a deck. I just hope that Neria doesn't receive unexpected surprises"

Kallian looked at the two of them "Hey, Neria is a strong Duellist, I'm sure she'll be fine" she claimed

"My move" Neria stated as she drew her 6th card "And I'll start by summoning Jain Lightsworn Paladin in attack mode" the white haired warrior appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200) "And now she will attack that Vega, and when Jain attacks a monster, she gains 300 attack points" Jain's sword glowed (JLP Attack 1800-2100) then Jain slashed Vega and destroyed him.

 **Neria: 8000  
Cullen: 7100**

"And now I will end my turn which means that Jain's effect activates, so now I discard the top two cards of my deck" Neria stated as she sent the top cards of her deck to the grave one of which turned out to be Wulf "And now I can activate the effect of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, since he was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, he is summoned to the field." The large white Cat Beast with large claws and wielding a large axe appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2100 Defence 300) "Now it's your turn"

Daylen smiled "So she's got two monsters and has dealt some damage" he smiled "That's a good start"

"Yeah but remember this duel has only just started" Aedan reminded

"My move" Cullen stated as he drew his next card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards" Cullen drew two cards from his deck "Then I'll activate my facedown, Call of the Haunted which allows me to summon back my Satellarknight Vega in my graveyard" Vega returned to the field "Which also means his ability activates which so now I get to summon Satellarknight Betelgeuse in attack mode" a fast looking warrior with short swords appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 700 Defence 1900) "And now I still have my normal summon so now I summon Satellarknight Rigel in attack mode" an heavily armoured knight appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 700)

"It doesn't make much sense" Kallian commented "He has four monsters and while he can take out Jain, they can't defeat Wulf"

"Cullen must have some kind of plan" Aedan claimed

Cullen smirked "I sure do. I have four monsters now but I'll have less but they will be powerful enough to destroy your monsters. I overlay Vega, Betelgeuse and Procyon in order to build the overlay network"

"Wait, you're doing what?" Neria gasped

"What is this?" Aedan questioned "I've never seen this before"

Daylen gasped "It must be a new type of summoning used in this world, just like Synchro is a new type"

Cullen took his three monsters and placed them on top of each other. Then he got a black card from his extra deck and place it on top of these monsters on his duel disk "Now I XYZ summon Satellarknight Delteros in attack mode" a large knight with a green glow appeared on the field (Rank 4 Attack 2500 Defence 2100)

"XYZ summon?" Neria questioned "I've never heard of this?"

Cullen smirked "Then maybe I should give you a lesson then" he stated "XYZ monsters are extra deck monsters that have to be summoned by placing cards of the save level on top of each other that have the same level as the rank of the monster. My Delteros has Rank 4 so it required 3 level 4 monsters to summon. Now these monsters used for the summon don't go to the graveyard, they instead become XYZ material which are used to activate my monsters effects" he pointed to the glowing rinks surrounding his monster "And there is one more thing, since my monster doesn't have a level, it cannot be used for Fusion or Synchro summoning"

Neria looked shocked; this new summoning technique seemed even more complicated than Synchro summoning

"But enough of the lesson" Cullen smirked "I activate my Delteros' effect, now by removing an XYZ material; I can destroy one monster on your field." One of the rings was absorbed by Delteros who then slashed through Wulf with his sword causing the Cat Beast to moan before shattering.

"However, I can only use this effect once per turn" Cullen stated "So that means your Jain is safe from Delteros' effect but she won't be safe from my Rigel's attack" Rigel zoomed forward and slashed Jain who moaned and shattered.

 **Neria: 7900  
Cullen: 7100**

"And now your field is wide open for my attack so now Delteros will attack you directly" Cullen added and the Delteros slashed Neria with his sword with made her groan in pain before falling backwards.

 **Neria: 5400  
Cullen: 7100**

"And I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Cullen finished

Daylen looked worried for Neria "This is bad" he stated "Now we've seen a new type of summoning technique that we've never seen before and we won't know what to expect"

"Let's just hope that Neria has a plan" Aedan added

"My draw" Neria stated as she drew her next card 'I need something good otherwise my monster will be destroyed by the effect of that Delteros next turn leaving me wide open.' She looked at her card and smiled "I summon Lumina Lightsworn Summoner in attack mode" a spellcaster woman with short blond hair and wearing white robes appeared on the field with fists glowing with magic (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000)

Cullen narrowed his eyes when he saw the monster "So you really are a Spellcaster user" he snarled

Neria ignored him "I activate Lumina's effect, now by discarding one card, I can summon one Level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster in my graveyard and so I bring back Jain" Jain returned to the field "And now I'll equip Jain with Lightsworn Sabre, this gives her an extra 700 attack points" Jain's sword changed into a thinner Sabre (JLP Attack 1800-2500)

Daylen smiled "That's just what Neria needs to destroy Delteros" he smiled "With Jain's effect, she'll be strong enough"

"Now Jain, destroy that Delteros" Neria ordered and Jain charged forward and was about to slash his sword but then Cullen activated a trap.

"I play my facedown card Shift" he stated "Now you attack my Rigel instead" Jain's sword sliced Rigel who exploded

 **Neria: 5400  
Cullen: 6200**

"Well I guess I will end my turn now" Neria stated "So now I have to discard 5 cards, two for Jain and three for Lumina." Neria discarded five cards and one of them happened to be the trap card Lightsworns Judgement and also Ryko Lightsworn Hunter "And since Lightsworns Judgement was sent to the grave, I can add Judgment Dragon to my hand" Neria added her powerful dragon to her hand.

This shocked Cullen "You mean that you have a dragon monster?" he questioned "Well we'll see how well it will go up against my knights" he then drew his card "And first I summon another Satellarknight Procyon in attack mode" another small orange and white knight appeared on the field "And now I activate Delteros' effect, now by removing one Overlay unit, I can destroy your Jain" another ring was absorbed by Delteros who then slashed Jain and destroyed her "Now Procyon will destroy that Spellcaster" Procyon charged forward and slammed his fist into Lumina and destroyed her.

 **Neria: 5200  
Cullen: 6200**

"And now Delteros will attack you directly again" Cullen ordered and Delteros slashed his sword through Neria causing her to scream in pain as she was sent flying backwards and landing on her back.

 **Neria: 2700  
Cullen: 6200**

"Neria!" Daylen yelled

Aedan gasped "Oh no, she just took a big hit" he gasped

Cullen smirked "And once you lose this duel, you'll suffer the same fate as all Spellcasters do."

Neria groaned as she tried to push herself up, no matter what she did, she just couldn't get through to Cullen. "I have to keep trying" she whispered to herself as she pushed herself up "I have to try and get through to him and show him that what he is doing is wrong" she gave a few deep breaths.

"This is bad" Kallian stated "Neria' got less life points and no monsters, plus, if she doesn't get rid of Delteros this turn then her monster will get destroyed next turn"

"But we do know what she had in her hand" Daylen stated

Aedan knew what he was talking about "But with her life points, would she risk it?" he questioned

"My draw" Neria drew her card and smirked "I think it's time for you to see the true power of my deck" she smirked. "Since I have four Lightsworn monsters in my grave thanks to my discarding earlier, I can special summon Judgement dragon in attack mode." The large purple scaled dragon with Red Claws appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2600)

Cullen gasped in awe "A dragon monster!" he gasped "In all my years of Duelling, I have never seen one"

Neria smirked "Well you'll about to see what my dragon can do" she smirked "By sacrificing 1000 life points, I can destroy every card on the field except for my dragon." Judgement Dragon glowed which made everyone cover their eyes and when they all opened their eyes, the field was empty except for Judgement Dragon.

 **Neria: 1700  
Cullen: 6200**

But Cullen smirked "You've just activated another one of Delteros' effects" he smirked "Since he was sent from the field to the graveyard, I can now summon another Tellarknight monster from my hand or deck, and I summon Satellarknight Alsahm in attack mode." A small knight with rings and wielding a bow appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1800). "And when he is summoned to the field, I can inflict 1000 points of damage to you"

"Uh oh!" Neria gasped as Alsahm fired and arrow from his bow which pierced Neria causing her to groan in pain again

 **Neria: 700  
Cullen: 6200**

"Neria's barely got any life points left and Cullen has over 6000!" Kallian gasped

"Well Neria's dragon will bring Neria back into this duel" Daylen stated

"And not just my dragon" Neria smirked "I summon Jenis Lightsworn mender in attack mode" a tall female healer wearing Healer's robes and with a small staff appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 300 Defence 2100) "And then I'll equip her with Lightsworn Staff in order to give her an extra 1000 attack points." Jenis' small staff turned into a larger one (JLM Attack 300-1300) "And now Judgement Dragon will attack that Alsahm with Justice Blast" Judgement Dragon sent a blast of white fire which engulfed Alsahm and destroyed him.

 **Neria: 700  
Cullen: 4600**

"And now Jenis will attack you directly" Neria added and Jenis sent a blast of magic from her new staff which struck Cullen

 **Neria: 700  
Cullen: 3300**

"And now I will end my turn and this shows the true power of Jenis" Neria stated "You see, when a card is discarded due to a Lightsworn effect, Jenis deals 500 points of damage to you and gives me 500 attack points. Judgement Dragon makes me discard four cards so you lose 2000 life points and I gain 2000 life points" Neria discarded four cards and then Jenis glowed black and White. Then Neria glowed white as she gained life points while Cullen glowed black as he lost life points.

 **Neria: 2700  
Cullen: 1300**

"Great" Kallian smiled "Now Kallian has the advantage again"

Aedan kept a crossed face "Just remember that it's Cullen's turn again and he may have more monsters that we have never seen before"

Cullen narrowed his eyes "You've only proven my point to me!" he hissed "You spellcaster users are a danger to this world and I must stop you" he then drew his card "I'll start by summoning Satellarknight Altair in attack mode" a warrior with blue wings appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1300) "And now I can activate his ability which allows me to bring back Satellarknight Procyon in attack mode" the small orange and white warrior returned to the field "And with Monster Reborn, Rigel also returns to the field" Rigel also appeared on the field"

"Three Satellarknight monsters" Daylen gasped "I gave a bad feeling about this"

Cullen smirked "Now I overlay my three Satellarknights in order to build the Overlay Network" the three knights turned into purple orbs and came on top of another as Cullen got another XYZ monster from his extra deck "Now I XYZ summon Satellarknight Triverr in attack mode" a tall knight wearing white armour with a white cape and wielding a sword and shield appeared on the field (Rank 4 Attack 2100 Defence 2500) "And when my Knight is summoned I can return all other cards on the field to their owner's hand" Neria gasped as Jenis and Judgement Dragon returned to her hand

"Great, now Neria is wide open" Aedan gasped

"But at least that Triverr can't wipe out all her life points" Daylen stated

But then Cullen smirked "Actually he can" he sneered "Because I activate the field spell Hexatellarknight" the field changed to have a large hexagon with circles at each corner formed runes on the floor "Now all tellarknight XYZ monsters gain 200 attack points for every XYZ material they have, since Triverr has 3, he gains 600 attack points" Triverr glowed as he gained power (SKT Attack 2100-2700)

"Oh no!" Kallian gasped

"Now Triverr, attack her directly and end this duel" Cullen ordered and the Triverr's sword started glowing as he raised it, then Triverr slice through Neria knocking her back as she screamed

 **Neria: 0000  
Cullen: 1300 (Winner)**

"Neria!" Daylen yelled

Neria landed on her back and looked up to see Cullen standing above her "Now you will suffer the same fate as all Spellcasters" he hissed as he raised his duel disk over her

"Hey, leave her alone!" Daylen yelled in anger and before anyone could stop him, he activated his duel disk and he got his Dark Magician out and place it on the disk "Dark Magician, stop him." Dark Magician appeared and blasted Cullen with his staff and blew him back.

Kallian and Aedan ran over to Neria and helped her up "Are you alright?" Kallian asked

"I'm fine" Neria gasped

Aedan narrowed his eyes at Cullen "Neria thought there was still good in you but you know what, I see nothing good in you, you just card any spellcaster user no matter if they're good or bad"

"All Spellcasters are a threat to this world" Cullen hissed

"No" a voice called "It is you warriors that are a threat"

Aedan, Daylen, Neria and Cullen turned to see the hilltop had been surrounded by robed figures, the leader of them which was the one who spoke had pointy ears, a small build and black hair.

Cullen instantly recognised her "Fiona!" he hissed "The Leader of the Spellcaster Faction"

Fiona narrowed her eyes "Cullen, Meredith's loyal dog!" she spat "You hurt so many of my followers, they're going to be after your blood when I bring you back to Cumberland to answer for what you've done. I assembled this force so that we could capture you"

Cullen shook his head "I'm no fool Fiona!" he hissed "Even I know that facing you all would be suicide, but rest assure the next time we meet will be your last" he activated his duel disk and created a blast of light and when the light faded, he was gone"

.The man who stood nearest to Fiona who had a more muscular build and had blond hair stopped his foot "He got away again!" he growled and then looked at Daylen and the others "What should we do with this lot?"

Fiona looked at both him and Daylen's group "Take it easy Anders" he stated "It's clear that these guys are no friends of the Warrior Faction"

"So what should we do with them?" Anders asked

Fiona looked at them "They may use Spellcasters but we should be cautious" she claimed "Bring them back with us be keep an eye on them"

Aedan looked at Daylen "What should we do?" he asked

Daylen looked around "I don't think we have any choice but to go with them" he stated "Neria needs some rest after that duel and some time to calm down. Besides, we might get more information on Solona and the others"

"So I guess we'll be going to another area then" Kallian sighed

"Don't worry Kallian" Aedan stated "We're all in this together and we'll stay together"

The four of them followed Fiona and Anders as they began to head over back to the lands of the Spellcaster Faction.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Another chapter complete and I'm sorry it took a long time but like I said before, these chapters are harder to write and I also have my University work. Now for the duel there are two things I wanted to say, I'm not sure if Jenis' effect works with Judgement Dragon but since Judgement Dragon requires Lightsworn monsters to summon it, I'm going to have it work. This is also the first time we've seen XYZ monsters and I had planned to use this duel as a way of bring XYZ monsters into the story. The next chapter will focus on the only group we haven't seen in the Dimension yet but I'm also working on the final chapter of Rise of the Divines season 2 so it may take a while.**

 **Created card:**

 **Lightsworn Staff: Equip Spell:  
Equipped only to a Lightsworn Spellcaster or Fairy Type monster, it gains 1000 attack points, if this card is sent from the deck to the graveyard by the effect of a Lightsworn monster, add it to your hand.**


	14. The Dalish

**The Dalish:**

Jaden groaned as he stretched his body and pushed himself up to a sitting position. He rubbed his head as he felt a massive headache "Oh man" he groaned "What happened, the last thing I remember was duelling Crowler so we could go and save Solona" it was then he gasped as he remembered the portal opening and then overpowering and watching people get sucked in "Wait, the portal!" he gasped as he pushed himself up to stand "Alexis! Zane! Daylen!" he looked around "Is there anyone here!"

"Jaden, stop shouting" a female voice hissed and Jaden turned to look behind him and saw Alexis had been lying behind him. The two of them realised that they had been lying next to each other which made them blush as Jaden helped her up. "Jaden, are you alright"

Jaden rubbed his eyes as he thought he was seeing things "I'm feeling alright Lex" he stated "But I'm not sure my eyes are fine as they keep seeing you wearing different clothes than your uniform"

Alexis looked confused "Then my eyes must have a problem because you're not wearing your Slifer Uniform"

Jaden and Alexis looked at each other and then down at their clothes and the two gasped. Neither of them were wearing their uniform anymore. Jaden now wore some kind of leather armour while Alexis wore some kind of blue dress which covered her legs "Wait, how did we change into these clothes"

"It must have been something to do with the portal's power" came another voice and the two of them turned to see Aristide wearing some kind of Ceremonial armour and Avexis was standing next to him wearing a small tunic. But Alexis gasped when seeing that Avexis' ears had changed to become pointy "The portal must have changed our appearances so that we would fit in this world"

"So why did it changed Avexis' ears?" Jaden asked

Aristide shook his head "I afraid I don't know the answer to that" he stated "The portal must have different effects on people."

It was then they heard someone shouting "Hey Jaden, if you're there then can you please help me, I can't get up!"

Alexis recognised the voice "That sounds like Chazz" she called and then she and Jaden found Chazz hidden near a tree and it couldn't get up due to what he was wearing.

"I don't know how it happened but I seem to be wearing this armour and it's weighing me down" Chazz groaned "Now can you help me get up"

Alexis and Jaden took hold of Chazz's shoulders and they managed to drag him to his feet. But the two of them were shocked to see that not only had Chazz's clothes had changed to some sort of chainmail armour, but he had also grown shorter and was now much smaller than Jaden and only came up to Jaden's chest. Jaden couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chazz noticed this "Hey, what are you laughing at?" he demanded

Alexis tried to hold in her giggles but then she started laughing too "Have you seen yourself Chazz?" she questioned "You've gotten shorter"

Chazz looked confused but then realised that Jaden and Alexis were now much taller than him and when he looked down, he saw that his legs and arms had gotten shorter which made him gasp "Ahhh, what's happened"

Aristide came over "It seems Chazz that the portal has changed you into a Dwarf just like it changed Avexis into an elf"

Chazz gasped in horror "This can't be!" he gasped "I look stupid like this"

Jaden couldn't resist a joke "Hey, when did you shrink" he joked before laughing again.

Chazz was not amused "It's not funny and why don't we see what this little body can do" he then charged at Jaden and knocked him down and shaking him around until Aristide pulled him off.

"Now we don't have the time for fighting amongst each other" Aristide stated "We have to find the others as we're now lost in the forest."

They all looked around and saw that they were now in some sort of forest with tall trees all around them but they also saw a dirt track "I think that we just need to go along this dirt track and we can find our way out of this forest" Jaden stated

"Well I guess there is nothing else we can do" Aristide sighed "Well I guess we'll be walking along this track." He then took Avexis' hand and began walking her along the path followed by Jaden, Alexis and Chazz.

...

Theorn carried on wandering along the river as he tried to find a way out of the forest. He was staring to get tired from all the walking he had been doing and also he hadn't had anything to eat. But soon, he spotted something in the distance; it was some kind of tent near the river. There was a group of them nearby with people around them. Theorn was worried about them but maybe they could help him get out of the forest and so it began walking towards them. As he got closer, he saw that every one of them had pointy ears which made him even more nervous now.

Eventually he realised that these people had seen him as he saw a small group of them walking towards them and he noticed that they all had duel disks activated and were looking cautious.

"Stop right there!" the leader of them stated who Theorn saw was female with faint tattoos on his face "We don't know who you are, you may be one of us but that doesn't mean that we trust you."

Theorn put his hands in front of him "Look, I just saw you guys and I was hoping that you may be able to tell me how to get out of this forest." He stated "I've been wandering around for some time and now I'm lost. I haven't had much to eat and I'm tired, I just want to get out of here."

One of the others who was a man looked at their leader "Mithra, I don't think he wants to hurt us" he stated "He hasn't made any demands."

The woman known as Mithra looked at the man "Alright Athras" she claimed "But if he tries anything, it's all on you" she then looked at Theorn "We'll take you to see our leader; she'll decide what to do with you. But be warned, if you try anything then I'll take you out"

Theorn nodded "Understood" he stated

They took him towards a larger tent in the camp and Theorn saw a woman wearing a yellow and blue robe and she had pale brown hair. Theorn realised that this woman must be important to the group, a leader or a shaman.

Athras stepped forward "Lanaya" he stated "We found this one wandering near our camp, he says that he is lost and wants to find a way out of the forest."

The woman known as Lanaya looked at Theorn "My clan doesn't usually trust outsiders" she claimed "But I am prepared to test you to see if we can."

"And what might this test be?" Theorn asked

Lanaya answered the question by holding up a deck of duelling cards "By duelling me, I will be absorbing you during the duel and we'll see if we can trust you after that."

Theorn smiled "Well I don't mind duelling" Theorn stated "It's been a while anyway but I'm ready"

"We'll see if you are" Lanaya answered and then she led Theorn to the centre of the camp where the rest of the group had gathered to watch the duel. Lanaya and Theorn stood on opposite sides of the field as they activated their Duel Disks and drew 5 cards each.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Theorn: 8000  
Lanaya: 8000**

"Since this is a test, you go first" Lanaya offered

"Why thank you" Theorn smiled as he drew his sixth card "I'll start by summoning my Dalish Soldier in attack mode" the elven warrior in leather armour and carrying a sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200) "And when he is summoned, I can summon another Dalish monster with 1500 attack points or less and so I summon Dalish Archer in attack mode" Another Elven Warrior this time with a bow and arrow appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 900) "And that will do it for me"

The guard known as Mithra looked at Theorn's monsters "Those monsters look Warrior type but they look a lot like us"

"Maybe he's not a bad guy" Athras stated "I mean he hasn't made any demands yet"

"My turn" Lanaya stated as she drew her card "I'll start by summoning Naturia Mantis in attack mode" a small green insect that was smiling appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1500)

"Naturia?" Theorn questioned "I've never heard of that kind of monster?"

"Well you will have heard of what I'm doing next" Lanaya stated "Because now my Mantis will attack your archer." The Mathis insect leapt onto the Archer and stabbed him multiple times with his legs until he shattered

 **Theorn: 7500  
Lanaya: 8000**

"Then I will place one card facedown and end my turn" Lanaya finished

Mithra smirked "Now Lanaya has the strongest monster on the field and has taken one of his out"

"Don't count this lad out yet Mithra" Athras stated

Theorn looked at the cards in his hands and then he drew his card and he smirked "I sacrifice my Dalish soldier so then I can summon my Dalish Hahren in attack mode" an older looking elf that looked to be some kind of wise man appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 2000)

But Lanaya smirked "You've just activated my Mantis' effect" she stated "Since you just normal summoned a monster, I can discard a Naturia monster from my hand and then that monster is destroyed so I'll discard Naturia Beans and your Hahren is destroyed." Theorn gasped as Hahren shattered

Mithra smirked as now Theorn's field was wide open. But Theorn remained calm "That would have been a good move I'm afraid that it is not for you"

"Why?" Lanaya questioned "You have no monsters and you've already summoned this turn"

"Yes, my field is empty" Theorn stated "Which is why I can special summon my Dalish Lookout in attack mode. When there are no monsters on the field, I can special summon this" a elven hunter that looked much more like he was good at stealth appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2300 Defence 1000) "And my Hahren is coming back as I play monster reborn to summon him back" Hahren returned to the field. "And as long as Hahren is on the field, all Dalish monsters gain 200 attack points" Hahren and Lookout glowed as they gained more power (DH Attack 2400-2600) (DL Attack: 2300-2500)

Lanaya gasped as now she realised that she was in trouble, her plan to stop Daylen from attacking had turned against her.

"Now Lookout will attack your Mantis" Theorn ordered and the Lookout fired an arrow from his bow which struck the Mantis and destroyed him.

 **Theorn: 7500  
Lanaya: 7200**

"And now that you have no monsters, my Hahren will attack you directly" Theorn added and then the Hahren began chanting which caused Lanaya to glow as she lost more life points.

 **Theorn: 7500  
Lanaya: 4600**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown." Theorn finished

Athras looked impressed "He turned Lanaya's trap against her and now he has two powerful monsters on his field"

"Don't count Lanaya out yet" Mithra stated "There's a reason that she is our leader"

Lanaya smiled "That was a good move" she stated "You turned my trap against me. But I still have more tricks to play" she drew her card "I'll start with Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck" she drew two extra cards "now I play another spell card, Double summon which allows me to normal summon twice this turn, so I summon Naturia Cliff and Naturia Butterfly in attack mode" two new monsters appeared on the field, first a large moving stone wall with red moss as hair and holding a tree in his hands like a weapon (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1000) and this was followed by a small purple butterfly that was walking on green legs (Level 3 Attack 500 Defence 1200) "And my Butterfly is a tuner monster"

"Tuner?" Theorn gasped "Oh great, now you're going to Synchro summon"

"I sure am" Lanaya stated "I tune my level 3 Butterfly with my Level 4 cliff which allows me to Synchro summon my Level 7 Naturia Landoise in attack mode" Butterfly turned into three circles which went around Cliff and made him transparent, then a large beam of light formed which then transformed into a large stone turtle with an island as the shell (Level 7 Attack 2350 Defence 1600) "And when my Cliff is sent from the field to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon a level 4 or lower Naturia monster from my deck in attack mode so I summon Naturia Dragonfly" a small Dragonfly appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 400) "And now I will use my Call of the Haunted in order to bring back Mantis" the green insect returned to the field.

"I see that you now have three monsters on your field" Theorn stated "But none of them can defeat my monsters"

"Not yet but they will" Lanaya stated "First my Dragonfly gains 200 attack points for every Naturia monster in my graveyard so with three, that's 600 attack points" (ND Attack: 1200-1800) "And now I play another spell card Leodrake's mane now my Mantis' effects are negated but her attack points become 3000 until the end of this turn" A large golden leaf covered Mantis and made the insect glow (NM Attack 1700-3000) "Now Mantis will take out that Hahren" Mantis jumped onto Hahren and stabbed him with his legs until he shattered.

 **Theorn: 7100  
Lanaya: 4400**

"Then Landoise will attack that Lookout since his attack points decreased since Hahren is on the field" Lanaya added as now Lookout had lost his attack boast. The giant stone turtle stepped on Lookout who shattered

 **Theorn: 7050  
Lanaya: 4400**

"And finally Dragonfly will attack you directly" Lanaya finished and Dragonfly buzzed through Theorn

 **Theorn: 5250  
Lanaya: 4400**

"And now I will end my turn" she finished

Mithra smirked "Now that's how it's done" she stated "Sure this lad has more life points but Lanaya has more monsters"

"I am curious to see what this lad does next" Athras finished

Theorn looked as his hand 'I have to take out that Dragonfly as it will become more powerful when I take out those others monsters' he thought and then he drew his next card and he smiled. "You're not the only one who can draw extra cards, I also play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two extra cards" Theorn drew two extra cards from his deck. "And then I will play my facedown card, the trap Dalish Vengeance, now by sacrificing 500 life points, I can destroy one card on the field and I choose that Naturia Dragonfly." The ground started shaking and the Dragonfly was swallowed "Now it won't power up if I destroyed another monster."

 **Theorn: 4750  
Lanaya: 4400**

Lanaya smiled "You helped yourself more than you realise, Dragonfly can't be destroyed by monsters with 2000 attack points or more"

"Well it's a good job that I destroyed it" Theorn stated "Now I play Monster Reincarnation, by discarding a card in my hand, I can get a monster back into my hand and I choose my Dalish Lookout." The lookout returned to Theorn's hand after he discard his Celtic Guardian "And since I have no monsters, I can special summon him and since this is a special summon, Mantis' effect won't work." Dalish Lookout returned to Theorn's field "And now I'll equip him with Heartwood Bow which gives him an extra 1000 attack points" the bow that the Lookout held changed into a larger more decorative bow (DL Attack 2300-3300). "And now Dalish Lookout will destroy that Mantis" The Lookout fired a shot from his bow which struck Mantis and destroyed him once again.

 **Theorn: 4750  
Lanaya: 2800**

"And now I will end my turn" Theorn finished

Lanaya smiled "That was a good move but I'm afraid that it won't help" she stated "Now it's my turn" she drew her card and smirked "I play the Spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Theorn and Lanaya drew until they held 6 cards in our hands. "next I play another spell card Premature Burial, now by paying 800 life points My Naturia Cliff returns to the field" Naturia Cliff returned to the field "And now I summon Naturia Cherries in attack mode" a pair of small cherries with smiling faces appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 200 Defence 200). "And like my Butterfly, Cherries is a tuner monster so now I tine my level 1 Cherries with my Level 4 Cliff which allows me to Synchro summon my level 5 Naturia Beast in attack mode." Cherries turned into a ring which wrapped around the Cliff and turned into a bright light, then a large green tiger made of bushes and other plants appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2200 Defence 1700). "And since Cliff was sent to the graveyard, I can summon my Naturia Horneedle in attack mode" a new monster that had the upper body of a plant but the lower body of a wasp and had the wings like grass appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 100).

 **Theorn: 4750  
Lanaya: 2000**

Theorn looked a bit confused "What was the point of that?" he questioned "None of those monsters can take on my Lookout"

"They will when I do this" Lanaya stated "I play the Spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, now I can destroy that Heartwood bow" Theorn gasped as a typhoon blew away the bow and Lookout's extra attack points (DL Attack 3300-2300). "And now my monsters are strong enough to take out that Lookout, first my Landoise will take out the Lookout" The giant tortoise stepped on Lookout and destroyed him.

 **Theorn: 4700  
Lanaya: 2000**

"And now you're wide open so my Horneedle and Beast will attack you directly" Lanaya added and then Horneedle buzzed through the air and stung Theorn while Beast pounced on him and knocked him back.

 **Theorn: 700  
Lanaya: 2000**

"And now I will end there" Lanaya finished

Mithra smirked "Excellent" she stated "Lanaya has reduced this boy's life points very low now"

Athras looked at Theorn "Yeah but something tells me that something big is coming" he claimed

Theorn looked at his hand 'It seems that the only way for me to win this is to bring my Varterral out' he thought as he saw the trap that he would need so he decided that he needed to survive now so he drew his card and pulled his move. "I throw one monster facedown and then place two cards facedown that will be all for now."

Mithra started laughing "That's it?" she questioned "He had 6 cards and that's all he does, he must be running out of moves"

Lanaya wasn't so sure 'He has two facedown cards so that might be a trap, but that's a risk I'll have to take' she thought as she drew her card "In order to play safe, my Beast will destroy that facedown monster" The Beast charged forward and swiped the facedown monster which turned out to be Dalish Defender which was destroyed.

"You just activated my facedown card" Theorn smirked "The trap Offerings to the Protectors"

"What does that do?" Athras questioned

"Since you just destroyed a Dalish monster, I can remove one Dalish monster in my graveyard from play along with a none Dalish monster such as my Celtic Guardian which I discarded with Monster Reincarnation. Now I can summon my Ultimate monster Dalish Varterral in attack mode" there was a large flash of light and then a large creature made from trees with multiple legs appeared on the field (Level 11 Attack 4000 Defence 4000)

Everyone watching the duel gasped as Theorn's monster appeared and let out a loud roar, but Lanaya wasn't finished "My Horneedle has an effect, when you special summon a monster, I can tribute another Naturia monster I control to destroy it"

But Theorn smirked "That won't work because my Varterral negates the effects of your monsters while they're on the field"

"What!" Mithra gasped "That will leave Lanaya vulnerable"

Lanaya sighed "Then I guess I'll have to switch my Horneedle and Landoise into defence mode since they haven't attacked yet" Horneedle and Landoise changed positions and knelt down "Now I will end my turn" Lanaya believed that she might just be able to survive this next turn.

But Theorn still had three cards in his hands and a facedown card on his field. Theorn knew that this was over now as he already had the card he needed but he still drew his card "Now I play my facedown card, my Countinious spell card Dalish Craftsman, now once per turn I can discard a card from my hand and get an equip spell from the grave, but it also increases the attack points of my Dalish monsters by 300 which is just enough to win this duel." The Varterral roared as he gained more attack points (DV Attack 4000-4300) "Now Attack that Beast and end this duel" Varterral roared and then jumped onto the Beast which was still in attack mode and then destroyed it. Lanaya fell to her knees as her life points were lost.

 **Theorn: 700 (Winner)  
Lanaya: 0000**

"Hey are you okay?" Theorn called as he walked towards but Mithra jumped in front of him

"Stay away from our leader!" she snarled

"No Mithra" Lanaya sighed as she stood up "He's a friendly and I can tell with the way he duelled, he duelled with his heart so that means he's not one of them"

"Not one of what?" Theorn asked

"One of those Shadow Cultists who have been raiding these lands" Lanaya answered "Recently our group along with the other groups in this area have come under attack from a group of Shadow Duellists who are seeking the locations of the ancient temples in the region.

Theorn had a thought "These Shadow Duellists? Are they called the Venatori?"

Lanaya gasped at the name "Wait, you know them"

Theorn narrowed his eyes "These Shadow Duellists took a friend of mine, me and a group of friends went to look for her but we got separated, if these Venatori are here then they may be the people I need to help find my friend"

Lanaya smiled "That's a nice goal" she claimed "But night is falling and you need some rest. Please, stay with us for the night and then we can help you find these Shadow Duellists in the morning"

Theorn smiled "Thank you for helping me" he stated

...

Meanwhile in another part of the Forest, Aristide who was carrying Avexis led Jaden, Alexis and Chazz through some sort of gorge.

"Man how much longer are we going to be walking for?" Jaden groaned "We've been walking none stop since we set off."

"This is what is was like when we went to those Ancient Ruins back at Duel Academy Jaden" Alexis stated "Back then it was Chumley who was complaining."

Aristide looked at them "Well we can't stop until we get some idea of where we are" he stated "Remember we're not at Duel Academy Island anymore so now we have to be very careful"

"He's right" Chazz agreed "Remember what we were told, Duelling here is not a game but a weapon"

"Hopefully we may be able to find someone who is friendly first" Alexis stated

"I hope so too" Aristide agreed "I'm just worried what might have happened to the others."

Alexis sighed "I guess that we'll just have to hope that nothing bad happens to them."

Jaden then looked ahead through the gorge and then spotted something which made him gasp "Hey look, that looks like a camp"

Everyone looked further and saw that Jaden was right; a small camp had been set up. It was in some kind of chasm where there was a small path through the gorge.

"We should be careful?" Aristide stated "We don't know if these people are friendly"

Alexis could see that the people did not look like a threat; in fact many of them seemed afraid and looked like they had just escaped from battle.

The group soon came to where the camp was and they attracted a bit of attention and were quickly approached by a man who had long black hair and wore fancy clothes, the people looked at the man respectable so it was clear that this man must be some sort of leader here.

"You don't look like the other refugees that I've seen" he stated "Did those Freemen give you trouble as well?"

"The Freemen?" Jaden questioned "Who are they?"

The man looked at them "How can you not know?" he asked "They are the ones raiding the area and kidnapping the people. Many people have fled from the forest villages and I have gathered them here. You can call me Fairbanks."

Alexis looked at him "We were just looking for a friend of ours" she stated "Someone who was taken by a group known as the Venatori"

"The Venatori?" Fairbanks questioned "I'm afraid I've never heard of that group" he then noticed Jaden's armour "And I have to be sure that you are not a danger to these people. These people have been through a lot and I don't want anyone to bring further to them"

"We don't want to hurt anyone" Jaden stated

Fairbanks was still a bit suspicious "Even so I have to be sure and so I will have to test you with a duel"

"A duel?" Jaden questioned "I never back down from a duel so if you want a duel then let's throw down"

Fairbanks looked at him "I have never seen someone who is eager to duel? That could mean you're one of them"

Alexis sighed "Jaden, Duelling is a weapon here, not for fun" she muttered which made Jaden laugh as he had forgotten that.

Soon Jaden and Fairbanks were standing opposite each other as they activated their Duel Disks and drew their opening hands. "Get your game on" Jaden smiled as he prepared to duel.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Jaden: 8000  
Fairbanks: 8000**

"You can take the first move," Fairbanks offered

"Why thank you" Jaden smiled as he drew his card "And I summon Elemental Hero Avian in Defence mode" the green feathered Hero appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000) "Then I will throw one card facedown and then end my turn"

"Not much for your first move" Fairbanks stated as he drew his card "But this duel is only just starting I summon Wattcobra in attack mode" a blue and red snake appeared on the field with lightning surrounding him (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 500). "And he may not be able to destroy your Avian but he doesn't need to because my Cobra can attack you directly."

"Say what!" Jaden gasped as the Cobra shot towards him and bit him on the leg making him groan

 **Jaden: 7000  
Fairbanks: 8000**

"Since Cobra just dealt damage to you, I can add a Watt monster to my hand so my Wattgiraffe to my hand. Then I will finish my turn by throwing two cards facedown and also" Fairbanks finished

"My move" Jaden stated as he drew his card and smiled "Sweet, I play Polymerization which allows me to fuse Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant in attack mode" a golden golem with lightning surrounding him appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1500)

"That's an impressive monster" Fairbanks stated "Too bad it won't be around for long" Jaden and the others looks confused until Fairbanks added "Because I activate my trap card Wattcancel, now since you just special summoned a monster, by discarding my Wattmole, your monster is destroyed."

Jaden gasped as his Thunder Giant shattered and now his plan had failed "Then I guess I'll summon Elemental Hero Knospe in attack mode" a small plant bud monster appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 600 Defence 1000) "And just like your Cobra, Knospe can attack directly" Knospe jumped through the air and punched Fairbanks knocking him back.

 **Jaden: 7000  
Fairbanks: 7400**

"That will do it for me but since Knospe dealt you damage, he gains 100 attack points and loses 100 Defence points" Jaden finished (EHK Attack 600-700 Defence 1000-900)

Fairbanks looked at Jaden "You may have caused me a bit of damage but this is not over yet" he stated "I activate my other facedown, the Continuous trap Wattcannon, now once per turn when I summon a Watt monster, you are dealt 600 points of damage. And that will be starting now by summon Wattgiraffe to the field" a small yellow giraffe appeared (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 100) "And since a Watt monster was summoned, my Cannon activates" the cannon fired a blast which struck Jaden.

 **Jaden: 6400  
Fairbanks: 7400**

"And it gets worse because just like my Cobra, my Giraffe can attack directly so both monsters will attack you directly" Fairbanks smirked as the Cobra bit Jaden while the Giraffe charged and knocked Jaden back.

 **Jaden: 4200  
Fairbanks: 7400**

"And that will do it for this turn but now I can add Wattpheasant to my hand thanks to Cobra's ability" Fairbanks finished

"This doesn't look good for Jaden" Chazz muttered "And he's looking like an idiot"

"Chazz, be nice!" Alexis hissed

"Well Jaden is getting kicked around by a bunch of monsters that don't have high attack points" Aristide stated "And Jaden will keep losing life points each turn if Fairbanks summons a Watt monster each turn"

"Let's hope Jaden makes a comeback this turn" Alexis stated

Jaden looked at his deck 'I have to do something soon' he thought 'otherwise I'll keep losing life points each turn' he then drew his card and smiled "I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck" Jaden drew two cards from his deck "Next I play the spell card Fusion Sage, this allows me to add another Polymerization from my deck to my hand. Now I will use that card to fuse Elemental Hero Avian on my field with Burstinatrix in my hand which allows me to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in attack mode" the green and red hero with the dragon head arm appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2100 Defence 1200) "And there's a reason why he is one of my favourite monsters, so now take out that Giraffe" Flame Wingman shot through the air and went through the Giraffe and destroyed him.

 **Jaden: 4200  
Fairbanks: 6500**

"And now my Wingman's effect activates" Jaden added "So now you take damage equal to your destroyed monsters attack points" Flame Wingman blasted Fairbanks with the dragon hand dealing more damage.

 **Jaden: 4200  
Fairbanks: 5300**

"And I still have one more attack so now Knospe will attack directly" Jaden added and then Knospe jumped and hit Fairbanks again.

 **Jaden: 4200  
Fairbanks: 4600**

"Now Knospe's ability activates again" Jaden finished as Knospe got more powerful (EHK Attack 700-800, Defence 900-800) "And now I will end my turn"

Alexis smiled "You see, I told you Jaden could turn it around"

Fairbanks drew his card "You may have destroyed my Giraffe but I have other monsters such as Wattpheasant which I summon in attack mode" a blue pheasant with a red head appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 800) "now you lose 600 life points thanks to my cannon but there's more, my pheasant can attack you directly so now both monsters will attack" Pheasant knocked Jaden back while Cobra bit Jaden.

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 4600**

"Now I can add Wattaildragon from my deck to my hand" Fairbanks finished "Now I will end my turn"

Jaden looked at his deck "I have to be careful otherwise I could lose on his next turn" he said to himself as he drew his next card "Okay, I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in attack mode" an orange and white female warrior with fiery hair appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1300 Defence 1000) "And now Flame Wingman will destroy that Pheasant and once again, you take damage equal to your destroyed monsters attack points." Flame Wingman destroyed the Pheasant and blasted Fairbanks with his dragon head.

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 2500**

"Then Lady Heat will destroy your Cobra" Jaden added and Lady Heat made a fireball in her hands and threw it at the Cobra causing the snake to burn and shatter

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 2200**

"And Knospe will attack you directly again" Jaden added as Knospe punched Fairbanks again,

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 1400**

"And since Knospe dealt you damage, he gains another 100 attack points" Jaden added (EHK Attack 800-900 Defence 800-700) "And then I will play the Spell card Mirage of Nightmare, now on your turn, I draw until I have four cards in my hand but on my turn, I have to discard the number of cards I drew. Then I will finish with one facedown which means Lady Heat's effect activates dealing you 200 points of damage for each Elemental Hero on my field so with 3, that's 600" Lady Heat threw another Fireball at Fairbanks

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 800**

Aristide looked at the field "Jaden now has more life points and monsters but Fairbanks can still pull this around"

"We'll just have to hope for the best" Chazz claimed

"My draw" Fairbanks stated

"And mine too thanks to Mirage" Jaden stated as he drew until he held four cards "I I won't need to bother with discarding any since I play Emergency Provisions so now I can sacrifice Mirage and gain 1000 life points" Mirage turned into golden particles which were absorbed by Jaden.

 **Jaden: 2600  
Fairbanks: 800**

"Well you will need those extra life points" Fairbanks claimed "I play my own Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards from my deck" Fairbanks drew two cards from his deck "Then I play my facedown Call of the Haunted which allows me to summon back my Wattcobra" the snake returned "And since a Watt monster was summoned, my Cannon deals you another 600 attack points" The cannon shot Jaden again.

 **Jaden: 2000  
Fairbanks: 800**

"But my Cobra won't be around for long because now I'm going to sacrifice him in order to summon my Wattaildragon in attack mode" the Cobra was replaced with a large light blue scaled dragon (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1000) "And then I activate Monster reborn in order to bring back my Giraffe" Wattgiraffe returned to the field "Then I will equip my Giraffe with Wattjustment which gives him an extra 800 attack points but negates his ability." A large blaster was equipped to the Giraffe's head (WG Attack 1200-2000) "Then I summon Wattspider in attack mode" a small black spider appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 400 Defence 500) "Now my dragon will destroy that Flame Wingman" the dragon unleashed a blast of blue fire which engulfed and destroyed Flame Wingman.

 **Jaden: 1600  
Fairbanks: 800**

"Then my Giraffe will destroy that Knospe" Fairbanks added and then the blaster fired a shot at Knospe causing the small hero to cry before shattering.

 **Jaden: 500  
Fairbanks: 800**

"And finally my Spider will attack and thanks to his special ability, he can attack you directly" Fairbanks smirked and then the spider shot a web at Jaden which made him groan

 **Jaden: 100  
Fairbanks: 800**

"And there's more" Fairbanks stated "Since my Spider dealt you damage, I can now destroy that Lady Heat" Jaden gasped as Lady Heat was wrapped with Spider web and then pulled into the spider's mouth and shattered "And since my Wattjustment dealt you damage, I can draw one card" Fairbanks drew the card and smirked "And this card will make this duel even harder for you, I play the spell card Wattplosion, now for every Watt monster on my field, I can discard one card in your hand so the three on your left will go"

Jaden gasped as his Bubbleman, Fusion Gate and Warrior Returning Alive were sent to the graveyard "Not good" he groaned 'Now I only have Bladedge in my hand, but I can't even summon him'

Fairbanks smirked "Let's see if you can get out of this, I end my turn"

Chazz sighed "Well I guess Jaden can't get out of this, there is no way he can beat Fairbanks now"

"Don't say things like that" Alexis stated "Jaden has gotten out of situations like this before; all he needs is one card"

Jaden looked at his deck 'I guess it comes down to this' he thought 'Well at least this is not a Shadow Game' he then drew his card which made him smirk "I can still fuse my monsters because I'm getting my Fusion card back with this card" he placed the card he drew into his duel disk "Fusion Recovery, now I get Polymerization and Elemental Hero Sparkman back to my hand." The two cards appeared in Jaden's hand "And now I will fuse the Sparkman along with Bladedge which allows me to summon Elemental Hero The Shining in attack mode" a white armoured Hero appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2600 Defence 2100) "And this has what I need to end this duel, so attack that Spider and end this duel" The Shining made a large ball of light and then he sent it towards the Spider where it exploded and created a shockwave that blew Fairbanks back.

 **Jaden: 100 (Winner)  
Fairbanks: 0000**

"Hey, are you okay?" Jaden called

Fairbanks managed to push himself up "I'm fine" he stated "And I can see that you're no threat to me, you may be ignorant as to what's going on around here but it's clear you're not with them."

"With who?" Chazz asked

Fairbanks sighed and saw that night was starting to fall "I think that I should explain later as its getting dark. There are children here who need help getting to sleep. You're more than welcome to stay here at it won't be safe outside of the gorge."

Aristide looked at them all as he picked up Avexis who was starting to fall asleep "Well I think we should take this man's offer" he said "We have no idea where we are and he may be able to explain more to us."

"And I think we need some rest" Chazz added "Walking around in this armour is tiring"

Fairbanks nodded "Well there are some tents free for you use. I hope you get a good night's rest, many of us here don't get that" he then walked off to help the children get to sleep while Aristide took Jaden and the others to another area where they would be able to get some sleep for the night.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Two duels in this chapter and two new groups. These two groups will not be as major as the Warriors or Spellcasters but they still play a role in the story but will play a bigger part later on. Now originally, I was going to have Aristide duel but that will be left for the next chapter and the main villains of this region will be introduced, these villains were originally going to be introduced in this chapter but I decided to use this chapter to introduce the Dalish Factions, these factions are small tribal groups who wander the forest and use a range of different decks but mainly around Beast, Insect, Plant or Thunder. These groups are also not united like the Warriors or Spellcasters but there will be more on that in the next chapter. I will try and complete it before Christmas but I can't be sure, I'm off University for now but I've got other things to do.**


	15. The Freemen

**The Freemen:**

In an old ruined castle in the middle of a forest, a huge meeting was taking place. The castle was mostly ruined with crumbling towers but there were underground tunnels which made this place the perfect hiding place. This old castle had once been a fortress for the Dragon Faction during their Empire to control the minor factions of the forest but ever since the fall of the Faction, the castle had fallen into disrepair since no one claimed it.

Now several members of the Venatori were now using this place as their base of operations in the region. These members were not very high in ranking as many of them had just been recruited and were not even direct members of the cult, they were just working for them.

They were a group that called themselves the Freemen, they were groups of people from the Faction War who were tired of the Fighting and had deserted their army to form their own group. This had allowed the group to form a large army which the Venatori wanted to use and so they had infiltrated their ranks using two of their High Ranking members to take control of the group to use for their own purposes. Gordian had been sent to take over the Spellcaster users and had been able to place many members under their control except for the leadership while Duhaime became a leader in the army itself.

The leaders were now meeting inside the ruins to discuss their plans. The only leader who was not there was Gordian since the Elder One needed him at the moment.

"We have found a temple in the Northern Woods but we cannot get inside" Duhaime growled, he was a large muscular man who looked strong enough to left a man into the air.

"It's not our fault that those ruins are sealed!" a man wearing armour that had the Warrior Faction crest chipped off. This was General Maliphant, the leader and founder of the Freemen "And you're forgetting that I'm in charge here. I built this group not you!"

Duhaime narrowed his eyes "And you're forgetting that my commanders are the only ones keeping you supplied and we can easily pull our support away" that got Maliphant to stop.

The third person in the room was a woman who wore armour as well, this was Costeau, one of the members who lead the operations "Gentlemen" she stated "We know that we need to deactivate these Wards to get inside these ruins. Our soldiers are capturing people from the villages in this area and I got word that a small group from a refugee camp were captured recently. Auguste is currently planning an attack on this camp but we've had word that Fairbanks is leading them"

Maliphant snorted and then spat on the floor "Fairbanks, what a disgrace of a man, he had good blood in him and he chose to be with the trash. Well then he can join them."

Costeau looked at him Even so, Fairbanks in popular with his people and he's a skilled Duellist. He's already defeated a number of our soldiers who we sent to get him."

Duhaime looked at her "His time will come soon" he hissed "But right now, we have to get the prisoners ready to use for the Ritual to open the ruins"

Maliphant looked at Costeau "I want you to go over to the Mines and prepare the prisoners for transport"

"It will be done" Costeau stated "Soon we will have those ruins plunder for relics."

…

Jaden groaned as he stretched his body. After Fairbanks had let them spend the Night at his camp, they'd all been giving a Sleeping bag to sleep in and for Jaden, Alexis and Chazz; it was the worst night of their lives. Jaden had been use to sleeping in a bed, even the not so comfortable ones back at the Slifer Red Dorm at Duel Academy. For Alexis and Chazz, it was even worse as they had much more comfortable beds in their rooms. None of them had ever slept in a Sleeping bag on the hard floor so they didn't get a good sleep. Aristide had slept in sleeping bags before when he had got on visits to ruins to search for Card ideas when he was a card designer so he had a batter sleep and Avexis was still young and had been made to sleep rough when she had been captured by the Shadow Riders.

Jaden looked at Alexis and Chazz who had also woken up "Morning, how did you sleep"

"Very badly" Chazz groaned "Worst night of my life"

Same here" Alexis stated "But there's not much we can do, I doubt there are comfortable beds around here

Aristide woke up and looked at them "Well at least we're all still together" he stated "And now we can speak with Fairbanks and find out what's going on around here."

They all soon found Fairbanks who was talking with several of his followers "So they've been taken then?" Fairbanks asked

One person sighed "I'm afraid so" he said "Gertrude and several others were captured while looking for supplies."

Fairbanks sighed "This is troubling" he said "Gertrude was the only one who could get us supplies. I guess we'll have to be more cautious with supplies." He then looked at the ones who came back "You've deserved a rest and you'll need it." They then left leaving Fairbanks alone.

Now that Fairbanks was alone, Aristide approached him and Fairbanks noticed them "So I guess you're wondering what's going on around here?" he asked

"We are" Aristide stated

Fairbanks sighed "Since this forest has been isolated from most of this world, the war between the Spellcaster and Warrior Faction hasn't affected this area that much. But recently, deserters from both sides decided to form their own group call the Freemen. We don't know much but we know that they've been in contact with some kind of group that has interest in the ancient ruins around here. The Freemen have located some ruins just north of here but are unable to enter since they're sealed. But they plan to perform a Ritual to unseal them but to do that, they need blood and they've been raiding the villages of the forest for victims." He then looked around "All these people are refugees from these attacks. Many of them have lost family members but we're unable to fight back. We just lost a small group who went out looking for supplies so now we're running low on them"

Aristide looked at Fairbanks "Do you have any idea where these Freemen took your captured people?" he asked

Fairbanks sighed "We haven't been able to scout the area because our scouts often don't return. But I know this region and I would say that the best place is the old mine not far from here. Apart from the ruins and this place, the only other areas of interest are the old mine, a small village which has been abandoned due to the attacks and an old abandoned fort."

Jaden looked at Aristide "Maybe we can go to this mine and help these people who have been captured."

Fairbanks gasped and shook his head "I cannot ask you to risk your lives for people you don't know. I can't have more blood on my hands"

"But we can't just leave these people" Jaden stated

"Jaden's right" Chazz agreed "Besides, maybe these Freemen have information on the Venatori and Solona"

Aristide looked at them and then at Fairbanks "We can't just let your people get hurt after you let us spend the night here. We'll go to these mines and we'll help your people if they're there" he then looked at Avexis "But would you mind looking after Avexis here, I can't bring her with us"

Fairbanks nodded and then he took Avexis from Aristide. Avexis was a bit shy but a smile from Aristide managed to get her to agree "Clara can look after her, she's good with children."

"That's good enough" Aristide stated "Now we should go and find this mine" he then led Jaden, Alexis and Chazz along the path to find the old mine.

...

In another part of the forest, Theorn groaned as he got up. He had been given a comfortable bed in one of the tents that was made of animal fur and quite soft. When he was fully awake, he left the tent to see if he could find Lanaya, the leader of this group who had given him a place to stay and she had knowledge on the Venatori. He eventually found Lanaya who was looking over the river where the camp was.

Lanaya looked over as Theorn approached "So now that you're awake, I guess you would like to know about the Venatori?"

"I don't know much about them" Theorn admitted "But I do know that they're searching for seven powerful cards"

"You mean the 7 Old God Cards" Lanaya stated

That caught Theorn by surprise "Wait, you mean you know these cards?" he asked

"I do" Lanaya answered "This forest is home to some of the ruins from the Dragon Faction. It was like an empire with seven powerful kingdoms, one for each Old God. During the war that the Dragon Faction faced, the Zombie and Fiend fighters stole the Old God cards from their temples and used them against the Dragon Faction. Only one card was not taken by them but it wasn't enough to fight the remaining ones. That's what caused the downfall of the powerful Dragon Faction. The Venatori are said to be the remains of these groups that fought the Dragon Empire. After they were defeated before, the Old God cards were said to have been taken back to their old temples and then sealed."

"And I've heard that the Venatori currently hold some of the Old God cards now" Theorn sighed

Lanaya looked worried "If they manage to get all seven Old God cards, then they would have the power to take over the world." She gasped "It's a good thing that the location of the Old God that they never got before is lost in time. It could be anywhere." Lanaya then looked at her "And you talked about a friend of yours, why did the Venatori take her?"

Theorn looked at her "My friend Solona got her hands on a powerful card. It was a treasured card to her but these Venatori wanted it. Solona refused to give it up and so they took her. But even so, these Venatori had an interest in Solona personally as well and I don't know why."

Lanaya looked at him "Well if you want any clues as to where you can find your friend, you should look to the west of here. The Venatori don't come here personally but they have a group known as the Freemen to do their work for them in searching these ruins and there are many of them in that region. These Freemen have a large presence there so that would be a great place to begin your search"

Theorn looked at her "Thank you for that information." He stated

"I hope that you find your friend" Lanaya stated "And I would like you to have this" she handed Theorn a bag which contained some food supplies and water "It's quite a trip so you'll need supplies to get there"

"Thank you again" Theon stated "Maybe we'll meet again" then Theorn stood up and left leaving Lanaya alone.

Lanaya watched as Theorn leave "I get the feeling that we're going to meet again soon." She said to herself.

...

Aristide along with Jaden, Alexis and Chazz walked along a path until they came to a small cave which did not look natural "This must be the mine that Fairbanks was talking about" Jaden stated

"It clearly doesn't look natural" Alexis added

"We should go in with caution" Aristide stated "This could end up being a trap and we don't want to get caught in it. Since I'm the only adult here, I'll go first."

Aristide led them into the cave with Jaden following first, then Alexis, and finally Chazz. They walked along the tunnels until they came to a large dug out room. The saw that this room had a small wooden building. But at the far side of the room was a cage with several people inside of it.

One of the people inside the cave looked at them. This person was a woman with auburn red hair and a medium build, she gasped when she saw them "Hey wake up, it looks like help has come"

Jaden looked at them "It's alright" he said as he walked over to the cage "Fairbanks sent us here"

"Fairbanks?" the woman gasped "I knew he wouldn't abandon us. My name is Gertrude. Me and my friends here were captured when we went looking for supplies."

Jaden ran to the cage "Don't worry, we'll get you out" he then tugged on the cage door but he couldn't open it "It's locked"

Chazz shook his head "Well the Venatori weren't just going to let their prisoners walk away were they"

Alexis shook her head "Not the time for jokes Chazz" she groaned

Aristide went over to the wooden building and found the key on a desk "Here" he said after he picked it up and threw it to Jaden "You help them, I'm just going to check around here for information"

Jaden caught the key and wasted no time in unlocking the door and then he went inside the cage in order to help Gertrude and the others. Some of them had been in the cage for longer and were weak from lack of food so they could hardly walk.

Alexis and Chazz entered the cage after Jaden and Alexis helped on young man to his feet "I hope that these people are going to be alright" Alexis sighed "It's quite a walk back to Fairbank's camp."

But then Chazz heard a creak and suddenly the cage door slammed closed "No!" Chazz yelled and he ran back to the door but it closed before he could get there. He tried to pull the door open but now it was jammed.

Then Aristide came out of the wooden building with some papers in his hand. He groaned when he saw Jaden, Alexis and Chazz were now trapped "Oh great" he groaned as he put the papers away in a small bag that he had "What did you do"

"They didn't do anything" a voice called and Aristide turned when he heard it.

Gertrude looked fearful "Oh no!" she cried "She's here."

Aristide watched as a tall woman wearing armour and had long blond hair walked in smugly and Aristide narrowed his eyes at her "And who are you?" Aristide demanded

The woman smirked "My name is Costeau, one of the commanders for the Freemen and you are trespassing on my property"

"Your property?" Aristide snapped "You kidnapped these people!"

Costeau smirked "They belong to us now and soon their energy will help us open the ruins and give us access to the power inside" she smirked at seeing Jaden, Alexis and Chazz now trapped "And now we'll have four more prisoners to add"

Aristide narrowed his eyes "You're not using any of us for energy!" he snapped "I suspect that you must know something about my daughter but right now, I have to save these people."

Costeau laughed "Well you'll have to beat me in a duel first" she stated

"That's fine by me" Aristide stated as he activated his duel disk and then Costeau activated hers and they both placed their decks inside and drew 5 cards.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Aristide: 8000  
Costeau: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Costeau sneered as she drew her sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Mezuki in attack mode" a bull monster standing on two legs and wielding a large axe appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack Defence 800) "Then I will place two cards facedown and then end my turn"

"A zombie type deck?" Aristide questioned as he drew his card and smirked "Since you control 2 cards in your spell and trap card zone, I can special summon Escher the Frost Vassal in attack mode" a man wearing armour made from ice appeared on the field kneeling and floating like he was meditating (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 1000) "But he won't be on the field for long because now I'm going to sacrifice him in order to summon his master, Mobius the Frost Monarch in attack mode" a large ice armoured monster appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000) "And since he was tribute summoned, I can destroy both your facedown cards" Mobius sent freezing water from his hands which froze Costeau's facedown which then shattered "And now Mobius himself will destroy that Mezuki" Mobius sent more ice cold water from his hand which surrounded Mezuki and froze him solid in ice and then the bull zombie shattered.

 **Aristide: 8000  
Costeau: 7300**

"And now I will end my turn" Aristide finished

"All right" Jaden cheered "Aristide managed to take out her monster and deal some damage"

"But this is not over for your friend yet" Gertrude stated "Costeau has spells that can destroy her opponent's monsters. I've seen her duel before and she's ruthless"

Costeau narrowed her eyes "You may have dealt me damage but you've only just seen the start of my deck" she hissed "And that Frost Giant won't be able to protect you once I play this, the spell card Tribute to the Doomed, now by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy that Ice monster" Costeau discarded a card and then the ground opened beneath Mobius and then monster hands grabbed him and pulled him underground to his doom. "And now that your monster is gone, I'll now activate my Mezuki's effect in the graveyard, now by banishing him, I can summon any Zombie type monster in my graveyard, no matter the level."

"Then I guess the card you discarded was a Zombie type monster?" Aristide guessed "That's one of the oldest tricks"

"It maybe but it's still a good one" Costeau stated "Now meet a Zombie that has been reborn from the body of an ancient creature. A creature once so great that now they're just legends. Say hello to Red Eyes Zombie Dragon" a dragon monster appeared on the field and while it looked like the Red Eyes Black Dragon, the dragon looked like he had been resurrected from the grave as his head was now just a skull and his wings were torn in places. He looked more like a zombie than a dragon (Level 7 Attack 2400 Defence 2000) "And since I destroyed your monster, I can attack you directly. So now Zombie Dragon, attack him with Inferno Dread Breath" the zombie dragon roared and then fired a blast of blue mist which hissed loudly and then surrounded Aristide causing him to groan.

 **Aristide: 5600  
Costeau: 7300**

Costeau smirked at Aristide's pain "This is a Shadow Duel" she stated "So you will feel the pain, now I will end my turn"

Aristide groaned as he got back to his feet and then he drew his next card "Okay, first in order to prevent you from getting me like that again, I play the Countinious spell card March of the Monarchs, now tribute summoned monsters I control cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Next I play the spell card Pantheism of the Monarch, now by discarding a Monarch Spell or trap card from my hand, I get to draw two cards from my deck" Aristide discarded his Strike of the Monarchs and then drew two new cards "Then I can summon Mithra the Thunder Vassal in attack mode" a royal princess wearing a blue and yellow dress along with a metal mask and holding lightning in her hands appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 800 Defence 1000) "And this is a special summon although you get a Thunder token in defence mode" a copy of Mithra appeared on Costeau's field kneeling down (Level 1 Attack 800 Defence 1000). "And now I can tribute Mithra in order to summon her master, the great Zaborg the Mega Monarch" a large metal golem with lightning in his hands appeared on the field replacing Mithra (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000) "And when he's summoned, I can destroy one monster on your field and I choose that Token" Zaborg's hands glowed and then he sent a bolt of lightning which destroyed the token.

Costeau laughed "What was the point of that?" she questioned "our monsters have the same attack points, you made a mistake"

"She's right" Chazz stated from the cage "Aristide should have destroyed that Zombie Dragon"

Jaden looked at Aristide "Aristide would never have made a mistake like that" he stated "there must be more to this"

Aristide smiled "There is more" he claimed "Mithra has another effect, since she was tribute, her other effect activates which allows me to tribute summon again this turn. So now I'll sacrifice my Thunder Monarch in order to summon a monarch more power." The cave filled with yellow lightning "One Monarch is bad but they can get more powerful, just like this one, I summon Zaborg the Mega Monarch in attack mode" Zaborg glowed and then grew taller to form an even bigger golem monster (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 1000)

"Wait, that's a level 8 monster so it requires 2 sacrifices" Alexis claimed

"The Mega Monarchs can be summoned by tributing a tribute summoned monster" Aristide stated "And just like the Thunder Monarch, my mega monarch can destroy 1 monster on the field" the more powerful Zaborg sent more lightning which destroyed the Zombie dragon. "And now that your monsters are gone, I can now attack you directly" Zaborg sent a blast of lightning which sent Costeau flying backwards.

 **Aristide: 5600  
Costeau: 4500**

"All right!" Jaden cheered "That's how you do it"

Gertrude smiled "Maybe we really do have a chance to get out of here" she stated

Aristide looked at Costeau "I end my turn"

Costeau narrowed her eyes and then she drew her card but there wasn't much she could do, "First I'll play Card of Demise so that I can draw until I hold 5 cards in my hand" Costeau drew until she held 5 cards in her hand "Then I'll summon a monster facedown and then I will place two cards facedown and that will be all" she stated

"I guess that there's not much Costeau can do" Alexis stated

"Don't count her out yet" Gertrude stated "This duel isn't over yet"

Aristide drew his card "I'll start this turn by playing the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards" Aristide drew two extra cards from his deck "Then I will play monster Reborn which allows me to bring back my Frost Vassal to the field" The Frost Vassal returned to Aristide's field "But he won't be around for long because now I will sacrifice him in order to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch in attack mode" a large red armoured knight replaced the Frost Monarch (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000) "And now his special ability activates which allows me to discard a card from your hand and if it's a monster, then you lose life points depending on its level so I choose your left card" Costeau discarded her left card but it was the spell card Burial from a different Dimension. But just like my Thunder Monarch, my Firestorm can become more powerful so now I'll sacrifice my Firestorm in order to summon Thestalos the Mega Monarch" a much bigger red armoured knight with spikes on his armour replaced the Firestorm Monarch (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 1000) "And I can summon him with one tribute summoned monster" Aristide added "And there's more, just like Firestorm, I can discard a card from your hand and if it's a monster, you lose lifepoints." Costeau only had one card in her hand and when she showed it to Aristide, it turned out to be the monster Doomking Balerdroch which was a level 8 monster. "Since your monster is level 8, you lose 1600 life points but since my Mega Monarch was summoned by tributing a fire monster, you also lose an extra 1000 life points" Thestalos threw two large fireballs at Costeau which made her groan in pain.

 **Aristide: 5600  
Costeau: 1900**

"And now my Thestalos will attack that facedown monster" Aristide added and then Thestalos threw another fireball and the facedown monster which was revealed to be Pyramid Turtle.

"Since you destroyed my Pyramid Turtle, I'm now allowed to summon another Zombie type monster from my deck with 2000 or less defence points so now I summon Paladin of the Cursed Dragon in attack mode" a zombie like dragon with a knight sitting on its back appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1200) "I will also play my facedown Dust Tornado to destroy your March of the Monarchs" a large tornado blew Aristide's spell card away.

"Well my Zaborg still has his attack" Aristide added and then Zaborg's fists had lightning in them which he fired at the Cursed Dragon

But Costeau had another trap card "Now that your March is gone, I can activate my facedown Sakuretsu Armour"

"Uh oh" Chazz groaned "That will destroy Zaborg"

A set of black armour appeared on Zaborg which then crushed him. Aristide sighed "Well then I guess I will end my turn by placing two cards facedown"

Jaden looked at Costeau's field "She must be planning something that monster isn't strong and Costeau has no cards in her hands."

"We'll just have to hope that Aristide will be ready" Alexis stated

Costeau drew her card "Now that it's my standby phase, my Doomking Balerdroch returns to the field in defence mode" a large skeleton ghost monster appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2000) "And now I play the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Both Costeau and Aristide drew until they held 6 cards in their hands. Costeau then laughed as she looked at her new hand "I like to see how you do with this" she stated "I play the field spell Zombie world" the field changed into a dark landscape filled with dead trees and plants

Chazz gasped "This is not good"

"Why's that?" Jaden asked

"Zombie world changes all monsters on the field and graveyard into Zombie type" Chazz stated as Thestalos changed into skeleton warriors. "But it also prevents either player from tributing summoning except for Zombie monsters."

"But Aristide's deck relays on Tribute summoning" Alexis gasped

Costeau smirked "And now I summon Uni-Zombie in attack mode" a set of zombies that were playing music appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1300 Defence 0) "And guess what, Uni is a tuner monster"

"Oh great" Jaden groaned

"Now I tune my level 3 Uni monster with my level 4 Paladin" Costeau smirked and then Uni turned into three rings which surrounded Paladin and turned him into a beam of light "The power of the dragons is reborn, now arise from the grave and show everyone your power" Costeau chanted "I Synchro summon Red Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon" a more ghostly version of Red Eyes Zombie Dragon appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2400 Defence 2000) "And while he may not be as powerful, he gains 100 attack points for every Zombie on the field and grave and thanks to Zombie world, all our monsters are Zombies." Everyone gasped as the Zombie dragon roared, Costeau had 7 Zombie cards on her field and grave while Aristide also had 7 so the dragon gained 1400 attack points (REZND Attack 2400-3800) "And then I will play the spell card Stop Defence which switches my Doomking to attack mode" the Doomking then rose and prepared to attack.

Aristide knew that he had to do something otherwise he would lose but he had something that would help him "I play my facedown, Gift of the Mystical Elf, now I gain 300 life points for every monster on the field, since there are 3, I gain 900 life points so I'll just be able to survive" Aristide glowed as he gained lifepoints

 **Aristide: 6500  
Costeau: 1900**

Costeau narrowed her eyes "You may survive this but you will feel the pain" she hissed "Now my Doomking will destroy that Thestalos" Doomking blew through Thestalos but then was set on fire and both were destroyed since they had the same attack points.

"And since a zombie monster was destroyed, I'm now allowed to summon another from our graveyards and I choose my normal Red Eyes Zombie Dragon" the large undead dragon appeared on the field "And now both my dragons will attack you directly" Both undead dragons unleashed a breath of foul air which surrounded Aristide causing him to groan in pain and when the smoke cleared, Aristide collapsed and fell face first to the floor.

 **Aristide: 300  
Costeau: 1900**

"Oh no!" Jaden yelled "Aristide!"

"Are you alright!" Alexis yelled

Costeau laughed "He is not alright" she hissed "He is feeling the full power of the Shadow Games and soon he will belong to us as will you all."

They all stared at Aristide who was on the floor. Aristide groaned as he tried to get up.

Aristide eventually managed to push himself up and stood up but looked down as Costeau smirked, thinking that he was about to five up "So are you giving in? Just stand down and we will go easy on you"

Aristide still looked at the ground "You know, I remember when the Venatori captured me, they twisted me until I became the mindless Zero who then was used to hurt my daughter." He then looked at Costeau "But I will never give up, the Venatori took my daughter and I will find her. She never gave up on me so I will never give up on her"

Costeau sneered "You are just a fool. This duel is over and I win. I end my turn but why should you carry on. I have more life points and two powerful monsters. You can't summon your Monarchs thanks to my field spell. There is nothing you can do!"

Aristide calmly drew his card and smirked "You did a good move last turn but there is one thing you're forgetting, I also have a full hand thanks to you" he stated as Aristide now had 7 cards in his hand "And your spell card isn't going to be on the field for long because now I play my own field spell, Domain of the Monarchs" the dark field changed into a large fortress and now that Aristide's monsters in the grave were back to normal, Necro Dragon lost some of his power (REZND Attack 3800-3100) "Then I will play my trap card The First Monarch, this trap card becomes a monster" the trap appeared on the field as a very old looking golem "And his attribute becomes one of a monster I discard, so now I discard Edea the Heavenly Squire and he becomes a light attribute. Now he will count as two sacrifices for a Light Attribute monster so now I tribute him in order to summon Ehther the Heavenly Monarch in attack mode" a large Angel Monarch appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 1000) "I'm don't have the requirements to activate his ability so now I will play the spell card Double Summon so now I can summon again this turn. But I will now activate the spell card The Monarch's Stormforth, this allows me to tribute one of your monsters instead so now I will tribute that Necro Dragon and replace it with Granmarg the Rock Monarch in attack mode" the Necro dragon vanished and was replaced with a large rock Golem (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000) "Now Granmarg will attack your remaining Zombie Dragon and thanks to my Domain field spell, he gains 800 attack points when a Monarch attacks your monster" Granmarg glowed as he gained power (GTRM Attack 2400-3200) then the Monarch punched the floor which made the ground erupt from under the dragon and destroyed him

 **Aristide: 300  
Costeau: 1100**

"It's over Costeau!" Aristide shouted "Now my Ehther will attack your directly" the Heavenly Monarch swung her staff around and sent a blast of magic which blew Costeau back and onto her back.

 **Aristide: 300 (Winner)  
Costeau: 0000**

"All right" Jaden cheered

"He did it" Gertrude sighed in relief "He actually did it"

Costeau sat up and narrowed her eyes at Aristide "You may have defeated me but your friends are not safe yet." She hissed "There are still more of us to defeat and they will..." she was cut off when she felt a groan and then the torches on the wall started to fade which made everyone nervous.

Costeau saw a shadow fall over her and her heart sank "No wait!" she begged "Please give us another chance!" the shadows then surrounded her and she began moaning as her skin began to turn black. "No Master Elder One, please don't, I can do it right I can. Please!" her cries went unheard as her skin began to turn to dust and then Costeau vanished.

The other soldiers gasped as their leader vanished. They did not want to risk the same fate and so they turned and ran for it hoping that they could get away before they were taken as well.

"Wait, what just happened?" Alexis questioned "Where did she go?"

Aristide managed to find a key where Costeau had been before she vanished and she unlocked the cage and let everyone out "That was a Shadow Duel so I guess that the Venatori took her soul for her failure."

"So she's gone?" Gertrude questioned

"For now at least" Aristide stated "But we should get back to Fairbanks before more of them come"

"I agree" Gertrude stated "If we get captured again, we might not be as lucky"

Jaden, Alexis and Chazz helped the other prisoners in the cage and then Aristide led them out of the cave as they went back to Fairbanks to tell him the good news.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Another chapter complete and it's the first time we've seen Aristide duel since he was first introduced. This will be the last update of 2018 and I have more plans for my Fanfiction through 2019. The next chapter may take a while because there may be two duels in the story depending on how long the first duel is. Also, I have plans to rewrite parts of chapters 14 and 15 from the original Dragon X chapter; this will be to show why Solona only uses her Blue Eyes cards after that.**


	16. Duelling Leaders

**Duelling Leaders:**

At the ruined fort where the Freemen used as their headquarters, the leaders were having a meeting. A couple of Freemen soldiers had returned with the news that Costeau had been defeated and was gone. Duhaime had used his Duel Disk to turn them into crystals for being cowards and running away.

Duhaime looked at the crystals in his hands "Since you fled, that means that you can take the place of the prisoners who escaped" he said to himself and looked at Maliphant along with another man with red hair, this was Ser Auguste who had now joined them.

"So Costeau has fallen" Auguste stated "That doesn't really surprise me, she was always weak and never took this seriously."

"You're only loyal to the promises that the Venatori made" Duhaime hissed "And from what these soldiers described about the duellist who defeated Costeau, I know who it is"

"Who was it?" Maliphant demanded

"A former member from our ranks." Duhaime stated "We called him Zero but his real name is Aristide Amell, the father of the girl who we are after, Solona Amell."

"So what is our next move?" Auguste asked

Duhaime looked at them "If Fairbanks now has Aristide along with other friends of Solona, and then we are in no position to take them. We'll have to start looking for victims elsewhere. I'll leave the two of you to carry on with our plans here but I must go speak with Samson, he will find us new victims to take. You better hope that you can hold our position here because if you fail, then you will lose all of our aid and you will be on your own"

Duhaime then left leaving Maliphant and Auguste alone. Auguste looked at Maliphant "So what should we do?" he asked

"We'll focus on holding this place" Maliphant replied "I see no further need to attack when we have no victims to capture."

...

Aristide led Jaden, Alexis and Chazz back towards Fairbank's camp along with the people they rescued led by Gertrude. Fairbanks was waiting for them along with a young woman with short blond hair and she looked like she once worked on a farm. Fairbanks looked at them as they entered the camp "So I see that you've returned" he stated but gasped when he saw his people "And you've saved my people"

"Gertrude" the woman gasped "You're alright"

"Yes I am Clara" Gertrude stated "Thanks to these people here"

"What about the Freemen who captured you?" the woman now known as Clara questioned

"Costeau is gone" Gertrude stated "Aristide here defeated her at it seems that she's gone for gone. She vanished when she lost."

"That's the nature of Shadow Games" Aristide stated "When you lose in a Shadow Game, you lose your soul. These Freemen seem to be working for the Venatori. They may have not been originally but the Venatori must have infiltrated their ranks and taken control of them"

"Costeau may be gone but she was only a minor officer in the Freemen" Fairbanks stated "But even so, this is a major victory for us"

"How is Avexis going?" Jaden asked

"Your little girl is doing just fine" Clara stated "She's an Angel here and many of us here haven't seen a child for some time so many of us like looking after her. But now she spends most of her time with the new lad who recently arrived"

"New lad?" Chazz questioned "Who is he"

"He arrived a while ago" Fairbanks revealed "We didn't trust him at first but Avexis recognised him and he talked about Lanaya. She's a leader of a group not far from here and so we welcomed him here. He said he wanted to see you when you got back. He's currently with Avexis over by the Waterfall."

Fairbanks led them over to an area near a waterfall where Avexis was playing with a small wooden boat in the lake where the water fell into. Next to him was a boy around the same age as Jaden and he also had shaggy brown hair. When he heard them approached, the lad turned around and they recognised him right away.

"Theorn?" they gasped

Theorn smiled at them "Hey" he greeted "It seems we have some catching up to do."

...

At the Fortress of Redcliffe, Solona sat at the edge as Teagan along with Evangeline helped Tomas and several other duellists to try and duel.

"Remember that if Meredith comes here with the full force of the Warrior Faction, you people are all that stands in their way" Teagan stated "The people of this village depend on you to protect them."

"Meredith will show no mercy to the villagers" Evangeline added "They will turn everyone into a crystal in order to power their armies. We must stop them before they can advance further into the Bufferlands."

The duellists all nodded and eventually Teagan looked at then "I think that's enough for today" he stated "Now you must make sure that you are all ready for when the armies come. You may be the only ones who can save the people."

The people all nodded and left leaving Teagan alone with Evangeline and Solona. When they were gone, Evangeline looked at Teagan "Do you think they'll be ready when Meredith arrives?" she asked "You know when she attacks she will attack with everything she has. She wants this place badly"

"And I will defend it to my last breath" Teagan stated "There is no way that I will allow my people to be turned into crystals and I will not allow Meredith to possess those cards while I breath"

Solona looked at them "I will help defend this place as well" she stated "But I would like to know a bit about Meredith herself"

Teagan sighed "Many people in the Warrior Faction have a dislike of the Spellcaster Faction due to the long rivalry between them but for Meredith, it is personal. Years ago when Meredith was a young girl, her family was murdered by a rogue bunch of Spellcaster users. The Spellcaster Faction has had a number of splinter groups who want to take over other parts of the land. The death of her family made the dislike personal for Meredith."

"When she became Leader of the Warrior Faction, she vowed that she would protect the Faction from the Spellcasters" Evangeline stated

"At first, I felt pity for her" Teagan added "But soon her hatred went further and further and she became paranoid and that was when she decided that war was necessary."

"She even did something no one would expect" Evangeline added "She decided that the Warrior Faction would have to use our ultimate weapon to stop the Spellcaster threat and so she raided the Tomb of Sir Brandis, one of the early leaders of the Warrior Faction. He led them during the fight against the Fiends and Zombies and his deck was buried with him and preserved. But Meredith stole it along with the Dragon cards that he used. This move split the Warrior Faction and caused a group including me to desert. My friend Thrask led us and he gave me the cards to bring here to keep them safe. Thrask now leads a Resistance in the Warrior Faction."

Solona was shocked at the story, she knew that when people in high power got paranoid, it led them to do shocking thinks "So you really think we can hold off an attack?" she asked

Teagan looked at her "I'm not sure myself but we will hold as best as we can."

Evangeline then had a thought "You know, I've seen you duel a few times but I've noticed that there is a lack of Synchro and XYZ cards in your deck."

Solona was confused "What?"

Teagan took over "Do you know what Synchro and XYZ cards are?" he asked

Solona looked at him "I've heard of Synchro but I've never really used it. As for XYZ, I've never even heard of it."

Evangeline and Teagan looked at each other and then Teagan faced Solona "Maybe I should show you so how about we duel." He suggested

Solona looked at him and then she activated her Duel Disk "If this XYZ is big in this world then it will be best if I learn how to use it and to see it in action"

"Very well" Teagan stated and then he activated his own Duel Disk

" **DUEL!"**

 **Solona: 8000  
Teagan: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Solona stated "And I'll start by summoning Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode" the large crystal dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2000 Defence 100) "And then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown"

"My move" Teagan stated as he drew his own card and smirked "And you said you wanted to see this XYZ summoning; well now you can. First of all, I'll going to activate the spell card Hand Destruction, now we both discard 2 cards from our hands and then draw another two to replace them" Both Teagan and Solona discarded two cards and then drew two new ones. Solona was forced to discard one of her Blue Eyes White Dragons along with her Maiden with Eyes of Blue. "But my cards I discarded will be coming back because I activate the effect of one that I discarded, Mermail Abyssgunde, when she is discarded, I can summon another Mermail monster that I discarded such as my Mermail Abyssdine." A small mermaid with pink hair and blue tail appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 200) "And since she was summoned by the effect of a Mermail, I can summon another level 3 Mermail monster from my grave so Abyssgunde returns" another mermaid with black hair and an orange tail appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 800) "And then I will normal summon Mermail Abyssdine in attack mode" a mermaid with blue hair and a pale blue and red tail appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 1200)

Solona looked at Teagan "Those monsters are all low level?" she questioned "Is that part of this summoning."

"It is" Teagan replied "XYZ summoning requires monsters of the same level and sometimes of a certain type or attribute. But now you are about to see, I overlay my 3 level 3 Mermail monsters in order to build the overlay network" the three Mermails turned into black particles which were absorbed by a black vortex and Teagan placed the three cards on top of each other on his duel disk "Now I XYZ summon Shark Caesar in attack mode" a blue shark with a white head and second dragon like head on top appeared on the field (Rank 3 Attack 1800 Defence 2000) "Now you can see what an XYZ monster is"

Solona looked at the new type of monster "It seems very complicated to summon" she stated

"They can be" Teagan stated "But even low ranked XYZ monsters can be worth it, since I used 3 monsters to summon him, Shark Caesar has 3 overlay units one of which I will now use to activate his ability. By removing one overlay unit, I add a Shark token to my Caesar which gives him an extra 1000 attack points" one of the lights surrounding the shark was absorbed and then the shark grew more powerful (SC Attack 1800-2800) "And now he's stronger than your monster so attack, destroyed Alexandrite Dragon" the shark swooped forward and bit the dragon on the neck causing him to roar before shattering

 **Solona: 7200  
Teagan: 8000**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Teagan finished

"My move" Solona stated as she drew her card "And first of all, I'm going to activate the spell card Dragon's Mirror, this allows me to fuse my Alexandrite Dragon along with my Blue Eyes White Dragon in my graveyard thanks to your Hand Destruction." The spirits of both dragons appeared on the field which were then sucked into a vortex "Two normal dragons merged together to create one of the earliest dragons. I fusion summon First of the Dragons in attack mode" a large blue snake like dragon appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 2800 Defence 2000) "And now my dragon will attack your Shark" First of the Dragons fired a blue fireball from his mouth

"But won't both our monsters be destroyed?" Teagan questioned

Solona smirked "First of the Dragons cannot be destroyed in battle except against a Normal monster and she is also unaffected by monster effects"

Teagan gasped at that but he still had a plan "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack which allows me to negate your attack." A magical barrier blocked fireball.

Solona sighed "Then I guess I'll end my turn"

Teagan smirked as he drew his card "First I will play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Teagan drew two extra cards from his deck "Then I will play the spell card Soul Taker, now I get to destroy one monster on your field but you gain 1000 life points and since there is only one monster on your field, that means your Dragon is gone" Solona gasped as her First of the Dragons shattered but then Solona absorbed the particles.

 **Solona: 8200  
Teagan: 8000**

"And now I will use my Shark's special ability again to remove another Overlay unit and give him another Shark Token and an extra 1000 attack points" Shark Caesar started glowing again and gained more power (SC Attack 2800-3800) "Now attack her directly" the Shark swooped forward and slapped Solona with his tail.

 **Solona: 4400  
Teagan: 8000**

"And now I will end my turn" Teagan finished

Solona drew her next card "I'll start my turn by summoning Luster Dragon in attack mode" a large purple dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1600) "Then I will activate the spell card Dragon Shrine which allows me to send my second copy of Blue Eyes White Dragon in my deck to the graveyard, and since he's a normal monster, I can send my third copy to the grave. And it gets better, now I play Dark Factory of Mass Production so now my two Blue Eyes return to my hand" the dragons appeared in Solona's hand "Now I play Polymerization in order to fuse my two Blue Eyes together." The two blues eyes dragons were sucked into a portal "Now I fusion summon Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon in attack mode" a large two headed dragon with crystal blue scales appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And now my dragon will attack" the first head sent a blast of blue fire which struck the shark but did nothing and the shark managed to launch a bubble of water which struck Solona.

 **Solona: 3600  
Teagan: 8000**

"What was the point of that?" Teagan questioned "You've only dealt yourself damage"

Solona smirked "This is where my knowledge comes in" she stated "Twin Burst cannot be destroyed in battle and when my dragon attacks your monster which is not destroyed, the monster is banished at the end of the damage step" Teagan gasped as his Shark Caesar was faded from the field. "And my Twin Burst can attack again so go" the second head fired a shot at Teagan which knocked him back a bit.

 **Solona: 3600  
Teagan: 5000**

"And my Luster Dragon still has his attack, so go" Solona added and then Luster Dragon fired a blast made of tiny crystals which struck Teagan

 **Solona: 3600  
Teagan: 3100**

"And now I will end my turn" Solona finished

"My move" Teagan stated as he drew his card "And first of all, I play Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Teagan and Solona drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And now I play the spell card Burial from a Different Dimension, this allows me bring my banished Shark Caesar to the graveyard. Then I'll play Monster Reborn which allows me to summon back my Shark Caesar, but he won't have any overlay units or shark counters" the Shark monster returned to the field "And now I will show you the next part of XYZ, I play the spell card Rank up Water Magic. Now I can use my Shark Caesar in order to summon a new Water XYZ monster that's two ranks higher" the Shark was engulfed in light "Go, Rank up XYZ Revolution, I XYZ summon Shark King in attack mode" a new larger black shark appeared on the field (Rank 5 Attack 1000 Defence 1000) "When you Rank up a monster, that XYZ monster and any overlay units it has then becomes overlay units for the new monster so Shark King has one overlay unit which I will now use to activate his ability. Now I can destroy one monster on your field and then all its attack points are added to my Shark King so say goodbye to that Twin Burst" Solona gasped as Shark Caesar grew bigger and swallowed her Twin Burst Dragon. (SK Attack 1000-4000) "And now my Shark King will destroy that Luster Dragon" the large Shark shot forward and grabbed Luster Dragon and destroyed him.

 **Solona: 1500  
Teagan: 3600**

"And now I will end my turn" Teagan finished "Now my King's Attack points returns to normal" (SK Attack 4000-3000

"My move" Solona stated as she drew her card "And thanks to you, I can now play Magical Stone Excavation, now by discarding two cards from my hand, I get a spell card in my grave back and I choose my Dragon's Mirror Spell card" the spell card returned to Solona's hand "And now I will use it in order to fuse the two Blue Eyes White Dragons along with Twin Burst, Luster Dragon and my First of the Dragon." The spirits of the five dragons appeared on the field and then they were sucked into a portal "With the power of five dragons, I'll summon a powerful dragon made up of different elements. I fusion summon Five Headed Dragon in attack mode" a large dragon with five heads, each one made up of a different element appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000) Teagan gasped when he realised that the duel was over "Now Five Headed Dragon, end this duel" the dragon heads each fired a blast which then combined to form one massive blast which engulfed Shark King.

 **Solona: 1500 (Winner)  
Teagan: 0000**

Teagan smiled "Even against my XYZ monsters your deck is still strong" he stated

Evangeline smiled "And now you will know how to use them" she claimed

Solona looked at her "But there are still no XYZ monsters in my deck or any that I know of that will work"

Teagan looked at her "Maybe one of these days you will find one and then you will know how to use them." He told her "Well I better go and help the other recruits prepare." He then walked back into the castle.

...

Far away from Redcliffe, a small convoy of wagons went along a hilly valley covered in grass as they came to a large city. This city was very different from other settlements in this world, the walls and buildings were made of white stone and there were people practising magic all over. Stalls were selling duelling cards and other things to do with magic while people dressed in mage robes walked all over the streets. The convoy eventually pulled up to a large tower where a few robbed figures were waiting. The man in front who was dressed in fancy robes with gold thread and rich dyed cloth stepped forward towards the leading wagon.

"Fiona" the man greeted "It is good to see that you've returned"

"Orsino" Fiona greeted back as she stepped off the wagon "It's good to be back here"

"So what did you find?" the man known as Orsino asked

The blond haired man Anders stepped down "The bastard Cullen got away again!" he growled "I can't believe that these Warriors think that we're a threat to this world. The only ones conquering people are those Warriors"

"Anders, calm down!" Fiona snapped at him and then she looked back at Orsino "The Warrior Faction has been moving more soldiers recently and they've taken out many of the villages among the Water Tribes. Redcliffe still hangs on but I feel that the Warrior Faction are about to make a big move there."

"If Redcliffe falls then they'll have a way to get into our territory" Orsino sighed "The only fortress that can defend that road is Andoral's Reach and that fortress is a ruin"

"We'll have to start sending our fighters there just in case" Anders sighed and then he looked at Fiona "And are you sure that it was a good idea to bring those people here, I don't think we can trust them"

Orsino looked at Fiona "What is he talking about?" he asked

Fiona sighed "We ran into a small group who were taking on Cullen" she stated "They didn't seem to be working for the Warrior Faction so we decided to bring them here"

"I still think that it's a bad idea" Anders stated "We saw one of them duelling against those rogue spellcasters and he used Warriors"

"But with how they took on Cullen, I don't think they're members of the Warrior Faction" Fiona protested

Orsino looked at her "And where are these people?" he asked

Fiona went over to one of the wagons and helped Daylen, Neria, Kallian and Aedan out. The people all glared at Aedan because of his armour but looked confused at Daylen.

Orsino looked at the three of them "Which of you three is the Leader?" he asked

Daylen stepped forward "I am the leader of us" he stated

Orsino looked at him "So what is it that you're doing?" he demanded "Who do you work for"

"We work for no one but ourselves" Daylen claimed "We were looking for my sister who was kidnapped a while ago. We hoped that someone might know where she is but so far, we don't know"

"And who was it that kidnapped her?" Fiona asked

"A group calling themselves the Venatori" Neria answered "They were after both our friend Solona and something that she had"

Fiona and Orsino looked at each other "I've heard of the Venatori but I thought they were destroyed many years ago?" Orsino stated

"We have had reports of fiends and zombies in the Forest" Fiona stated "The Warrior Faction have not hit that area yet."

Anders still didn't trust them "Now hold on!" he hissed "How do we know that they're telling the truth" he demanded "How do we know that they're not lying and are spies for the Warrior Faction."

"Then I guess we should settle this right now" Orsino stated and he looked at Daylen "You will have to duel, should you lose then you will be ejected from our territory and will never be allowed to set foot here again"

"I agree" Daylen stated as he wanted to show that he had no problems with these people.

Anders stepped forward "I'll take you on!" he hissed but Fiona stepped in front of him.

"I'm the leader here" he snapped "I'll be the one to take him on" Anders grumbled and went back to stand with Orsino. Then Fiona and Daylen activated their Duel Disks.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Daylen: 8000  
Fiona: 8000**

"Since this is my territory, I'll go first" Fiona stated "And I'll start by throwing a monster facedown, then I will play the spell card Foolish Burial, this allows me to send a monster in my deck to the graveyard." Fiona sent one monster to her graveyard "And now I will finish my turn by throwing one card facedown." A facedown card appeared on the field.

"My turn" Daylen stated as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode" a magician in black robes and holding a magical rod appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 1700)

Orsino looked at the Magician "It seems that he uses spellcasters as well" he stated "Maybe we can trust him"

Anders snorted "Just because he uses Spellcasters doesn't mean that he's one of us" he claimed

"And now my Skilled Dark Magician is going to attack that facedown monster of yours" Daylen stated and then the magician swung his rod around and sent a black ball of magic which struck the facedown monster and revealed it to be some sort of falcon puppet.

"This is my Shaddoll Falco" Fiona stated "My Shaddoll monsters have their effects activated when they get flipped, and since when you attack them, they get flipped, my Falco's effect activates so now I can summon another Shaddoll monster in my graveyard in facedown defence and I choose the monster I sent earlier, Shaddoll Dragon" a small dragon puppet appeared on the field which was then flipped upside down and then Falco shattered.

Daylen sighed "Well I guess there is nothing else I can do other than place a card facedown."

"My move" Fiona stated as she drew her card "And first of all, I'll start by flip summoning my Dragon" the dragon returned (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 0) "And now his ability activates which allows me to send a card on your field and then send it back to your hand so now your Magician returns to your hand" the puppet dragon sent a blast of fire which made Skilled Dark Magician fade and then reappear in Daylen's hand "And now I will summon Shaddoll Squamata in attack mode" a long snake like puppet appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1000) "And since you have no monsters, both my monsters will attack you directly"

Daylen watched in horror 'my facedown is call of the Haunted, that won't help me" he thought and so he closed his eyes as the Dragon breathed fire on his and Squamata spat acid at him which made him groan in pain.

 **Daylen: 4300  
Fiona: 8000**

"Oh great" Aedan groaned "Aedan just lost nearly half his life points and the duel has only just started"

Anders chuckled "I told you that this guy is no match for Fiona" he sneered

Neria narrowed her eyes at Anders and then looked at Daylen "Ignore him Daylen!" she called "You can still do this"

Daylen looked at Fiona "I don't care what your followers think; I never give up on a duel"

Fiona smiled "That is how true duellists talk" she stated "Now I will finish my turn by playing the spell card Book of Moon which flips my Squamata facedown" The Snake like puppet vanished as he was flipped facedown

"My draw" Daylen drew his card 'She must have flipped that monster facedown for a reason' he thought 'I better get rid of it.' He looked at his hand and realised that he had the card he needed to do that "I'll start by summoning back my Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode" the black robbed magician returned to the field. "Then I will play the Continuous spell card Spell Absorption, now every time a spell card is played, I gain 500 life points and it also gives my Magician a spell counter" a light on the Magician's rod started glowing (SDM SC 1). "And now I will play the Spell card Double Summon which means I can normal summon once again, and it means that I gain 500 life points and another spell counter" (SDM SC 2).

 **Daylen: 4800  
Fiona: 8000**

"And now I will Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode" Daylen added as a red knight with a sword and shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000) "And he gains a spell counter when he's summoned plus an extra 300 attack points" the sword started glowing on Breaker (BTMW Attack 1600-1900). "Then I will play one last Spell card which will stop you from using that monster's flip effect, the spell card Shield Crush which destroys one defence position monster on the field" Fiona gasped as her Facedown monster shattered.

 **Daylen: 5300  
Fiona: 8000**

"But it gets worse because now my Magician gets a third Spell Counter" (SDM SC 3). "And with three spell counters, that means that now I can activate his effect and sacrifice him in order to summon his master, the great and powerful Dark Magician in attack mode from my deck." The Skilled Dark Magician was engulfed in bright light and then the purple robbed Magician with a powerful staff appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 2100). Fiona gasped at the strength of Daylen's monsters "Now Dark Magician, attack that Dragon with Dark Magic Attack." Dark Magician swung his staff around and sent a large blast of magic which engulfed the dragon puppet and destroyed him.

 **Daylen: 5300  
Fiona: 7400**

"And now my Breaker will attack you directly" Daylen added as Breaker slashed Fiona with his sword.

 **Daylen: 5300  
Fiona: 5500**

"And now I will end my turn" Daylen finished

"Well, it looks like they're nearly equal in life points" Aedan stated

"But Daylen has more monsters including one of his best" Neria stated

"We'll just have to see what Fiona does next" Aedan stated

Fiona drew her next card "First I will play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon which allows me destroy that Spell Absorption card" a typhoon blew away the spell. "Next I will play the spell card Allure of Darkness which allows me to draw two cards from my deck but then I must banish one dark monster in my hand and so I choose my Shaddoll Beast." Fiona drew two cards then removed her Beast "But he will be returning because I play my facedown card, the trap Shaddoll replay which allows me to summon a banished Shaddoll monster so my Beast returns." A large puppet Beast appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2200 Defence 1700). "And now my Beast will destroy that Breaker" the Beast pounced onto Breaker and tore him apart as Breaker shattered

 **Daylen: 5000  
Fiona: 5500**

"And I will end my turn by summoning another monster facedown along with placing a card facedown." Fiona finished

"My move" Daylen stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by summoning Magician's Valkyria in attack mode" a female spellcaster with long light brown hair and wearing a short blue magician's clothing appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1800) "And as long as she is on the field, you cannot attack other spellcasters that I control, but first of all, she will destroy that facedown monster" The Valkyria fired a ball of magic from her wand which destroyed the facedown monster which turned out to be some kind of hedgehog puppet.

"Since you flipped by Shaddoll Hedgehog, his effect activates which allows me to add a Shaddoll spell or trap card to my hand" Fiona stated as she added the card she needed.

"Well my Dark Magician can still destroy your Beast" Daylen added as Dark Magician fired a blast from his staff which destroyed Shaddoll Beast.

 **Daylen: 5000  
Fiona: 5200**

"My move" Fiona stated "And I'll start by activating my facedown card, the trap card Shaddoll Core, this summons it as a monster on my field" a small field like ghost appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 1450 Defence 1950) "And then I will summon another Shaddoll Falco to the field" another falcon puppet appeared on the field "Then I will use the card I got from thanks to my Hedgehog's effect, the spell card Shaddoll Fusion which allows me to fuse my core along with my Shaddoll Hound in my hand in order to summon El Shaddoll Construct in attack mode" a large blue fairy appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2500) "This card is fusion summoned by using a Shaddoll monster and a light attribute monster but thanks to Core's effect, I can use it for an Attribute summon. And now he will destroy that Valkyria" the fairy sent a ball of magic which destroyed Valkyria.

 **Daylen: 3800  
Fiona: 5200**

"And now I will end my turn" Fiona finished.

Anders smirked "Fiona now had him" he stated "She had the most powerful monster on the field."

Daylen and Neria noticed that as well "I hope Daylen has an idea on what he can do, that monster is powerful." Aedan stated

Neria looked at Daylen "I'm sure Daylen will find a way." She claimed

Daylen drew his card and smirked "I'll start by playing the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Daylen drew two extra cards from his deck "And now I will play one of those cards that I drew, Dedication through Light and Darkness, this card allows me to sacrifice my Dark Magician and summon something even more powerful my powerful Dark Magician of Chaos from my deck" the purple robbed Magician was absorbed by black magic which then took the form of a black robbed spellcaster with a headpiece (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2600) "Sure our monsters may have the same attack points but I play the equip spell Wonder Wand which gives him an extra 500 attack points" a small wand appeared in Dark Magician of Chaos' hand (DMOC Attack 2800-3300) "And then I will summon Mathematician in attack mode" a small old teacher appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 500) "And now my Dark Magician of Chaos will destroy that Construct with Sceptre strike." Dark Magician of Chaos swung his staff around and blasted Construct and destroyed him.

 **Daylen: 3800  
Fiona: 4700**

"When my Construct is sent to the graveyard, I get to add a Shaddoll spell or trap card in my grave to my hand" Fiona stated

Daylen smirked and shook his head "That won't be happening, any monster destroyed by Dark Magician of Chaos is removed from play"

"What!" Fiona gasped in shock

"And now Mathematician will attack you directly" Daylen added as Mathematician sent a blast from his mind which struck Fiona.

 **Daylen: 3800  
Fiona: 3200**

"Now I will end my turn" Daylen finished "Which means that I can activate my Chaos Magician's effect to add my Pot of Greed in my graveyard to my hand" the spell card returned to Daylen's hand

Fiona drew her card "I'll start by playing the spell card Monster reborn in order to summon back my Shaddoll Dragon" the dragon returned to the field "Then I'll play the spell Card of Demise, now I get to draw until I hold 5 cards in my hand but I must discard my hand in 5 turns" Fiona drew until she held 5 cards in her hand "But my dragon won't be around for long because now I'm playing Polymerization in order to fuse my Dragon along with my own Mathematician in my hand. With the power of two spellcasters, I'll create a monster filled with the power of the dolls and the power of earth, I fusion summon El Shaddoll Shekhinaga in attack mode" a large metal contraption that walked on several legs appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 2600 Defence 3000)

"Not bad" Daylen stated "But it doesn't have the power of my Dark Magician"

Fiona smirked "Be careful what you say" she stated "Because I always have a plan and it starts with this, my monster Shaddoll Hound which I now summon in attack mode" a large dog puppet appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 900) "And now my Shekhinaga attacks your Magician and while that may seem like a crazy idea, I have this card to help" she revealed a card in her hand which made Daylen gasped as she recognised the card "It's the quick play spell Battle Fusion, now since I have a fusion monster attacking, it gains life points equal to your monster's attack points." Shekhinaga glowed as he gained power (ESS Attack 2600-5900) then the machine's laser cannon went through Dark Magician of Chaos and struck Daylen, knocking him back.

 **Daylen: 1200  
Fiona: 3200**

"Since my Dark Magician of Chaos was equipped with Wonder Wand, I get to draw one card" Daylen stated

"You're going to need it" Fiona stated "Because now my Hound will destroy your Mathematician." The Hound jumped and bit Mathematician hard and destroyed him

 **Daylen: 1100  
Fiona: 3200**

"Now I end my turn, let's see how you do now." Fiona finished

"My turn" Daylen stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Dark Magic Veil, now by paying 1000 life points, I can summon a Dark Attribute Spellcaster from my graveyard so come on back Dark Magician" the purple robbed Magician returned to the field. "And now I play the spell card Polymerisation which allows me to fuse Dark Magician along with my Dark Magician Girl in my hand" the two spellcasters appeared and were then sucked into a portal "When two powerful spellcasters with the power of darkness come together, they create a powerful Magician filled with Darkness, I fusion summon Dark Sorcerer in attack mode" a monster that had the same build as Dark Magician but wore pure black robes appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 2600 Defence 2500)

 **Daylen: 100  
Fiona: 3200**

"Big deal!" Anders snorted "That monster can't finish Fiona off"

Daylen smirked "My Dark Sorcerer has a special ability which allows me to add any spell card in my deck to my hand and I choose the spell card Spider Web. But before I use it, since my Dark Sorcerer is called Dark Magician while on the field, I can play the equip spell Magic Formula which gives him an extra 700 attack points." The Dark Sorcerer got a magical book which increased his power (DS Attack: 2600-3300) "And now I will play Spider Web, this card allows me to take a card from your graveyard that you used last turn and you have just the card I need to end this duel now"

Fiona gasped as she realised what card Daylen wanted

"Now I'll take that Battle Fusion from your grave" Daylen stated as Battle Fusion appeared on his hand "And now my Dark Sorcerer will attack your Shekhinaga and I'll play Battle Fusion in order for my monster to gain it's attack points" Dark Sorcerer glowed as he gained even more power (DS Attack 3300-5900) then the Sorcerer fired a blast from his staff which struck the Machine and destroyed him and throwing Fiona back.

 **Daylen: 100 (Winner)  
Fiona: 0000**

"All right!" Kallian and Neria cheered "He did it"

"No way!" Anders gasped

Daylen looked at Fiona and he walked towards her "Hey, are you alright?" he asked only to be blocked by Anders

"Stay away from her!" he ordered but then Fiona stood up

"No Anders" she stated "They past and that means that they can stay, but it does mean that they'll be expected to help protect this place"

"From what we've heard, the Warrior Faction are the aggressors here" Aedan stated

"They are" Fiona claimed "They started this war and won't stop until we are destroyed and the only way to end this war is to take out Meredith. You can stay in the city for a while but soon you will be coming with me to help protect the region. But I will have to do some planning before we do that."

Kallian, Neria, Daylen and Aedan looked at each other, it was clear that they were on the side of the Spellcaster Faction in this war and they hoped that maybe they could find Solona while in this war. They only hoped that they made the right choice.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Another Chapter complete and two duels in this chapter, the next chapter will take a while because I have important work to do at University so I won't get as much time to work but it will look at the characters who we have not seen much yet in the Dimension.**

 **Created Cards:**

Rank up Water Magic: Normal Spell card, Tribute 1 Water XYZ monster, summon 1 Water XYZ monster that's 2 ranks higher.

Shark King: XYZ Rank 5 Attack 1000 Defence 1000 Fish Water Attribute: Remove 1 overlay unit, destroy one monster on your opponent's field and add its attack points to this monster.

Shaddoll Replay, Normal Trap Card: Special summon one banished Shaddoll monster

Dark Sorcerer: Fusion Level 9 Attack 2600 Defence 2500, Spellcaster, Dark Attribute: This card is also called Dark Magician while on the field; when this card is fusion summoned, add 1 spell card in your deck to your hand.


	17. Champion of the Arena

**Champion of the Arena:**

Away from both the lands were the war between the Spellcasters and Warriors was being fought as well as the forest lands, there was another area that was mainly a mighty desert. This region was known as the Hissing Wastes and it is mainly a region of emptiness. There is hardly anything here except a sea of sand as well as rocky hills and gorges. Some sights however as the remains of ancient temples and cities which had once been major power bases in the time of the Dragon Faction but had now fallen into ruin. Few people ever come to these places as it is very difficult to get to and supplies often run out leaving people without water or shelter. High winds also create dust storms which destroy supplies so travelling rarely ever happens.

But around the area where the desert starts, there are some settlements and the home of the only faction that has power in the Hissing Wastes. This faction are known as the Rock Faction, a small faction with very little power outside their major city of Wycome and mainly use Rock type monsters for members of the faction. The city was located where the only river through the Wastes flows into a large lake and was the only source of water for miles. But this city is also a major trade settlement and hope to a great event where duellists from all areas but mainly the Bufferlands would come to watch. The Arena tournament. This duelling tournament takes place in a large arena and many people would come and watch. But very few people knew the truth about this event and many people had been forced into these duels.

One such person involved in this event was Sereda Aeducan. The girl had woken up in the cells under the arena and had been made to wear gladiator type clothes and duel her opponents in the some kind of tournament. There was an old tradition here that only the strong survive and so Duellists were forced to duel each other and the losers would be taken towards the underground mines and forced to dig rocks for stone. Sereda had seen this cruelty as she had been pushed around by someone who claimed to be in charge of her. This man was the overseer of the Arena and had treated Sereda like she was a slave. Sereda would have resisted but she had no idea where she was and so she had decided to play along and duel in the Arena. So far, Sereda had been doing well and had been able to take out several opponents. Her duelling skills from Duel Academy helped her a lot. For Sereda, the hardest thing for her was to watch as the losers were dragged away and there was nothing she could do. Sereda knew that as soon as she had the chance, she would make her escape.

Right now, she was duelling her opponent who was known as Everd. Sereda did not think much of him as Everd seemed very inexperienced at duelling and also quite lazy, he also seemed to be drunk since he was wobbling around and was barely able to stand. Everd had no monsters on his field and no facedowns while Sereda had her Dwarven Paragon on the field.

"Dwarven Paragon, attack Everd directly" Sereda ordered and then Dwarven Paragon sent a blast whist blew Everd away and he fell onto his back.

 **Sereda: 6000 (Winner)  
Everd: 0000**

"The Winner of this duel is our newcomer known as Sereda" the overseer shouted as the crowd cheered "And now she had advanced further on and she'll be ready to face the Champion of the Arena soon" Sereda sighed as people began chanting her name but Sereda didn't feel like she should be cheered on. She watched as armed guards came onto the field and they picked Everd up and began dragging him away. Everd didn't put up a fight since he was quite drunk and could barely stand. Sereda just hoped that she could find a way out of this place soon.

…

Not far from the city, two people walked along some kind of dust trail. Both of them were dressed in tunics but one had shaggy green hair while the other had long blond hair. It was Dr Crowler and Zane Truesdale, the two of them had been trying to find signs of any of the others and so far, there had been nothing.

"How much longer are we going to be wandering around?" Crowler demanded "We've been wandering around this place and so far, we've found no sign of any of our friends." The two of them had been wandering around and all they had seen were Mountains, fields and sky. They hadn't even come across any people and now they had been climbing over a hill.

But when Zane reached the top of the Hill, he smiled as they had finally seen something that they had been looking for. It was some kind of settlement that was within large walls. It was clear that this settlement was inhabited as he saw people in the distance surrounding the Watchtowers that were along the walls.

Zane smiled at turned to Crowler "I think we've finally found what we're looking for" he stated as Crowler joined them. Crowler took one look at the settlement and smiled.

...

In Fairbank's camp, Jaden along with Alexis, Chazz, Theorn, Aristide and Avexis sat around a campfire as they all ate a meal that Fairbanks' people had cooked them. The meal was Rabbit and Venison as the forest was full of wildlife and there were a few skilled hunters who had caught the meat. They all enjoyed the meal but Jaden seemed to like the meal the best.

"I've never had anything like this" he stated "We never had any meal like this in the Slifer Dorm. Most of the time it was sardines and rice"

Chazz shook his head "Even when I was in Obelisk Blue, we rarely had venison and never rabbit."

"Ra Yellow was the same" Theorn added

Aristide looked at them "Sometimes I had to eat this type of food when I was on my trips" he stated and then he looked at Theorn "So Theorn, have you been able to find any clues as to where Solona or any of the others are?"

Theorn sighed and shook his head "No" he stated "Ever since I got here, I've only been in the forest. I haven't got any idea as to what's going on around outside the forest but I do know that there is a war going on. This world is split into different factions and each one is based off a certain monster type. The Warrior and Spellcasters Factions are the largest while the others are minor. This forest using Earth attribute types such as Beast, Plant or insect and sometimes Thunder."

"Alexius stated that there was a war going on between the Factions" Chazz stated

Theorn nodded "The Warriors and Spellcasters are fighting each other" he stated "And the Venatori are behind it. They are also behind what's going on around here. The war hasn't hit this area but there are old ruins around here and the Venatori are searching for them to try and find the Last Old God Card."

"So what's the plan?" Alexis asked

"Well once it's okay, we'll leave this forest and try and find the others" Aristide stated "But while those Freemen are here, it won't be safe for any of us to leave"

"So maybe we should try and find an isolated member and take them out" Jaden suggested

"No" Aristide stated "We mustn't be reckless; we have to be very careful about how we handle this. I'll go on a scouting mission to try and locate where the Freemen are and then we can come up with a plan of attacking."

The rest nodded and then they went back to their meal.

…

The city that Crowler and Zane had arrived at was not at all a very nice place. The streets were crowded with many people and many of them were wearing rags. Zane and Crowler were eventually able to get away from the crowd and enter a back alley.

"We're never going to find someone who can help us" Crowler hissed "These people here are not at all like the people back home."

Zane shook his head "I don't like it either but we have to try and find a map."

It was then that the bells rang and Crowler looked around "What is going on?" he questioned.

Zane looked onto the main street and watched as many people began walking in the same direction "I guess we should follow the flow of people and see why." The two of them followed the crowd and came to a large arena. Crowler was reminded of when he helped the Shadow Rider Tania build the duelling Arena back on Duel Academy Island with help from other students. They soon found themselves sat among the seats as they watched to see what would happen.

From another part of the arena, there was a small balcony which was where the important people sat. Two people were there, one was an old man who held a large scroll and looked to be some kind of an announcer while the other was a middle aged man dressed in fancy robes and had a thick beard. His eyes were full of arrogance and power.

The old man stepped forward "Introducing Duke Antoine of Wycome" he said only to be pushed aside by the other man who must have been the Duke.

Antoine stepped forward and waved to the people "Welcome people of Wycome" he announced "Our tournament had been filled with entertainment and duels that have driven people to duel as best they can. But in the end, there can only be one winner and today, we will see that winner. First of all, introducing our champion duellist, the man who has won this tourney several times and has shown the power he holds. Introducing Vartag, a man who has been our champion and shows that no one stands in our way." The gates on one side of the arena opened and a young man of around 25 stepped out. He looked to be quite short and wore some kind of armour like a soldier. It was clear that he was popular because people were cheering loudly for him and Vartag waved his hands. It seemed that he loved the attention.

"So this is some sort of duelling tournament" Zane stated "I wonder how they duel"

"We haven't got the time to watch this" Crowler sighed "We have to try and find our friends."

Then Antoine carried on "And introducing our new coming. When she first stepped into the arena, everyone thought that she would lose within the first round but she proved us wrong and she went further and further until she came here. The question is, can she do what no one has done before, and can she beat our champion. Please welcome, our new arrival, Sereda"

Zane and Crowler gasped and widen their eyes and they watched as their friend Sereda walked out from the other side of the arena. Sereda seemed to be smaller than what they remembered but she still looked the same. Only now she wore armour just like Vartag did.

"What is she doing?" Crowler hissed "We spent time looking and she was here duelling"

Zane looked at Sereda "I don't think she had much of a choice."

Sereda stood on the arena and looked at her opponent. She had heard stories about Vartag and how he had been the Champion of the Arena for years and he had never been beaten. This made her worry but she was going to do her best and get out of this city as soon as she could.

Antoine sat back down "Duellists, shuffle each other's decks" he ordered and Sereda and Vartag stepped into the middle and shuffled the other's deck and then they handed it back to them and they walked to opposite sides of the arena where they activated their duel disks.

"Get ready to lose" Vartag mocked

"Get ready to see what I can do" Sereda countered and then the two of them drew 5 cards.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Sereda: 8000  
Vartag: 8000**

"Since I am the Champion here, I'll take the first move" Vartag sneered as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode" a small yellow rock like monster with magnets attached to his hands and head appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1600). "And then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

Sereda looked at the Magnet warrior 'I've heard of these monsters' she thought 'The King of Games used then and they can be tricky to beat especially when the combination comes through, I guess I will just have to prevent him from summoning him.' Sereda looked at her hand and smiled "I'll start by summoning my Dwarven Soldier in attacked mode" a small armoured male warrior with a thick beard appeared on the field wielding a large hammer (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1200). "He may not be strong enough to destroy that Beta but I equip him with Lightning Blade which gives him an extra 800 attack points" the large hammer was replaced by a sword that had lightning along the blade (DS Attack 1600-2400). "And my Soldier can attack twice when he destroys a monster, so now take out that Beta" the Dwarven Soldier charged forward towards the Magnet Warrior.

But Vartag smirked "You should know that you need to be careful when you attack. Because now I play my facedown card, Negate Attack which blocks your attack" A barrier blocked the attack and forced the soldier back onto Sereda's field.

Sereda was annoyed that her attack failed "I end my turn" she finished

Vartag smirked as he drew his next card and when he looked at him, he smirked even more "If you know my Magnet Warriors, you should know that they get worse than this" he stated

"Uh oh" Sereda gasped

Vartag smirked "I take it from that reaction that you do know what happens. But I don't have the right card in my hand but I will soon thanks to this, I summon Alpha the Electromagnetic Warrior in attack mode" a small dark grey rock magnet with a shield in one hand and a two bladed sword in the other appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1700 Defence 1100). "And when he is summoned, I can add one Level 8 or higher Magna Warrior monster from my deck to my hand. So now I add Valkyrion the Magna Warrior to my hand." The card was added to Vartag's hand "And I don't need to wait long to summon him because I now tribute Beta the Magnet Warrior in my hand along with Alpha and Gamma in my hand which allows me to summon him to the field." Alpha and Gamma appeared on the field alongside Beta and then the three magnets warriors broke apart and then combined to form one large monster (Level 8 Attack 3500 Defence 3850). Sereda widened her eyes when she saw the powerful monster "Now Valkyrion, attack that soldier" Vartag ordered and then Valkyrion shot forward and slashed the soldier which destroyed him.

 **Sereda: 6900  
Vartag: 8000**

"And don't think that I forgot about my Electromagnet Alpha, so now he will attack as well" Vartag added as Alpha went forward and knocked Sereda back making her groan as she landed on her back.

 **Sereda: 5200  
Vartag: 8000**

"And that will do it for me" Vartag finished

The crowd all cheered for Vartag while Crowler and Zane looked in shock.

"Oh man" Crowler groaned "I can see why this guy is a champion here"

Zane agreed "He's just summoned one of the most powerful monsters in Duel Monsters" he stated "Sereda is a good duellist but this isn't going to be easy for her. I just hope that she can find a way to pull through."

Sereda groaned as she managed to push herself up and stared at her opponent 'This is going to be tricky' she thought 'to summon a monster powerful enough to destroy that, I'll have to try and survive' she then drew her card. "I summon Dwarven Smith in attack mode and then I will place one card facedown and end my turn" a dwarf who wore a blacksmith apron and held a hammer appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1400). "And as long as he's on the field, all Dwarven Monsters gain 400 attack points" Dwarven Smith glowed as he gained power (DS Attack 1400-1800). "And then I will end my turn by throwing two cards facedown"

Vartag smirked "That's it?" he questioned "This will be easier than I thought." He then drew his card and smirked "First of all, I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two extra cards" Vartag drew two cards from his deck "And now I play the effect of Valkyrion so now by tributing him, I get Alpha, Beta and Gamma back on my field." Beta returned to the field along with a grey warrior made from magnets (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1700) and a pink warrior made from magnets (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1800)

Crowler looked confused "That doesn't make any sense" he stated "None of those monsters have the power to beat Sereda's monster"

Zane looked worried "If Vartag is an expert duellist then he must have done that for a reason"

Vartag smirked "My monsters may not be as strong but they will when I play this Countinious spell card, Magnetic Poles, now all Magnet and Electromagnet monsters gain 300 attack points" all of Vartag's monsters glowed as they gained power. (ATMW Attack 1400-1700) (BTMW Attack 1700-2000) (GTMW Attack 1500-1800) (ATEMW Attack 1700-2000). "And now I will knock your life points right down, once I take out your monster, you will be wide open for an attack and with their combined attack points, your life points will go down to zero and I'll win. I thought you'll be a bigger challenge but it seems that I was wrong. Now Beta, attack that Smith" Beta charged though the air.

But Sereda smirked "Did you forget something" she questioned "My Smith is not the only card I have on my field." Vartag gasped when he remembered her facedowns "You should always be ready for traps because now I play the trap card Negate Attack which blocks your attack and ends your battle phase right now" a barrier blocked Beta's attack and sent him back to Vartag's field.

Vartag grumbled that his attack had failed "I end my turn" he finished.

Sereda drew her next card "I'll start by switching my Smith into defence mode" the Smith changed his position "And then I will summon another monster facedown" a new facedown monster appeared "And that will do it for me"

Vartag smirked "You won't catch me off this time." He hissed as he drew his card "By playing Mystical Space Typhoon, I can destroy your remaining facedown" a typhoon appeared and blew Sereda's facedown which turned out to be the spell card Dwarven Longsword. "Well even if it didn't pose a threat, I'll not fall into a trap. Now Beta, destroy that facedown monster" Beta fired a beam from his magnet arms which struck the facedown monster and made it flip over but the attack was absorbed.

Sereda smirked "You have fallen into my trap" she smirked "My Dwarven Scout has 2000 defence points and thanks to my Smith, he gains 400 defence points" The beam was reflected and struck Vartag.

 **Sereda: 5200  
Vartag: 7600**

"And it gets worse" Sereda added "Now my Scout's ability activates, so now I can destroy one card on the field and I choose your Electromagnet Alpha" the Scout threw a dagger which struck the Alpha and destroyed him.

Vartag growled angrily "I end my turn"

Zane smirked in the crowd "He doesn't seem too happy"

"Sereda is leading him into traps" Crowler added "If she keeps this up then she hopefully will defeat him."

Sereda drew her card and smiled "It's time for me to show you what else my deck can do" she stated "First I'll sacrifice Dwarven Scout in order to summon Dwarven Miner in attack mode" the Scout was replaced with a Dwarven holding a large pickaxe (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 2100). "And once per turn, he can go digging in my graveyard and return one card in my grave to my hand so my Dwarven Longsword returns which I will now equip to my Miner giving him 1000 attack points" the pickaxe was replace with a large sword (DM Attack 2000-3000) "But that's not all, now I play the spell card Anvil of the Void, now by sacrificing 1000 life points and my Dwarven Smith, I can summon Dwarven Stone Golem in attack mode" the Smith was replaced with a large rock monster that had large fists (Level 8 Attack 2700 Defence 2500) "And now my monsters will attack so first my Golem will take out that Alpha" the Golem picked up a large rock that he dug up from the ground and threw it at Alpha which caused the magnet monster to break apart and explode.

 **Sereda: 4200  
Vartag: 6600**

"And now my Miner will take out that Gamma" Sereda added and the Miner slashed Gamma with his new sword and destroyed him.

 **Sereda: 4200  
Vartag: 5400**

"And with that, I will end my turn" Sereda finished

Crowler started giggling "That's how you do it" he stated "She's fighting back"

Zane looked at Sereda "But this duel isn't over yet" he stated

Vartag narrowed his eyes as he drew his card "I'll switch Beta into defence mode" he stated as Beta knelt down "And then I'll summon Beta the Electromagnetic Warrior to the field in defence mode" a more armoured magnet knight that looked more like Gamma than Beta appeared on the field and was also covered in lightning (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 1500) "And when he is summoned, I can add one Magnet Warrior from my deck to my hand and I choose to add Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior to my hand but there isn't anything else I can do now so I end my turn by throwing two cards facedown"

"Well I guess it's time to show you what else my Golem can do" Sereda stated as she drew her card "First I'll play my own Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two extra cards" Sereda drew two cards from her deck "And now I will activate the effect of my Miner, now I can add my Dwarven Soldier back to my hand and now I will summon him to the field" Sereda's soldier returned to the field.

But Vartag had something to say "Before you carry on, I activate my trap card Dust Tornado to destroy that Dwarven Longsword" a tornado blew into the miner and blew away the sword (DM Attack 3000-2000)

"Well I'll destroy your Magnetic Poles with Mystical Space Typhoon" Sereda countered as Vartag's spell was blown away. "And now I will activate my Golem's special ability, my discarding my Dwarven Paragon in my hand to the grave, I can destroy one monster on your field and I choose that normal Beta" The Golem threw a large rock at the Magnet Warrior and destroyed him. "And now my Dwarven Soldier will destroy that Electromagnetic Beta and when my Soldier destroys a monster, he can attack again"

But Vartag smirked "You should know by now to be ready for traps" he sneered "Because Shrink cuts your monster's attack points in half" Sereda gasped as her Soldier shrunk to half his size (DS Attack 1600-800) and then his attack bounced off Beta and a shard of a shattered sword struck Sereda making her groan in pain.

 **Sereda: 3500  
Vartag: 5400**

"Well I guess I'll just use my miner to destroy him instead" Sereda countered and then the Miner threw his pickaxe which destroyed the Beta. "And that leaves you wide open for my Golem's attack, so attack him directly" the Golem threw a large rock which knocked Vartag back.

 **Sereda: 3500  
Vartag: 2700**

"And I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Sereda finished

Vartag narrowed his eyes "This is the last time you humiliate me!" he snapped "It's time to show you the true power of my deck and my ultimate monster. First I play the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we each hold 6 cards in our hands." both Sereda and Vartag drew until they held 6 cards in their hands. "And now I have everything I need to show you what I can do. First I summon Delta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode" a new magnet monster made up of triangle prisms appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1400) "And now I banish my Electromagnetic Alpha and Beta in my grave along with Electromagnet Gamma in my hand in order to special summon Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior in attack mode." The spirits of Alpha, Beta and Gamma appeared and they melted and merged together to form a warrior made from different magnets and holding a large gun in his hands (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2800). "But why stop their when I can play the spell card Grave Magnet, now by removing the original Alpha, Beta and Gamma in my graveyard from play, I can summon Valkyrion again" Valkyrion returned to the field. "But it gets better because now I play the spell card polymerization"

Zane and Crowler widened their eyes in shock "Uh Oh!" they gasped

"Now I fuse Berserkion and Valkyrion together in order to create the ultimate warrior of magnets." Vartag smirked "I fusion summon Imperion Magnum the Superconductive Battlebot." The two Magna warriors combined in order to form a large 4 legged warrior made of magnets (Level 10 Attack 4000 Defence 4000) "And now Imperion, destroy that Miner" the powerful warrior lifted his large sword and then brought it down on the Miner and destroyed him.

 **Sereda: 1500  
Vartag: 2700**

"And it gets better because now I play the quick play spell card De-fusion" Vartag added making Crowler, Zane and Sereda gasp in shock "Now my Imperion separates back into Valkyrion and Berserkion" the large warrior separated into the two magna warriors "And now it's time for the end, first Delta will take out that Solider and sacrifice himself to do so" Delta charged into the Soldier and both monsters were destroyed "And now my Valkyrion will destroy that Golem" Valkyrion slashed his sword and destroyed the Golem.

 **Sereda: 700  
Vartag: 2700**

"And now you're wide open, so now Berserkion, attack him directly" Vartag ordered and then Beserkion began to charge his blasted

"It's over!" Crowler gasped "Sereda can't take this hit"

The blaster then fired and struck Sereda and Vartag laughed as the field was covered in smoke "It's over, I'm still the champion and you'll be sent to the mines"

The field was quite until a voice called out ""Not yet" the smoke cleared and revealed Sereda was still standing and she still had her life points.

"What!" Vartag gasped "But now!"

Sereda smirked "It's simple, I activated my Dwarven Spirit trap card, since you destroyed a Dwarven Monster, I was able to reduce your direct attack damage to zero"

Vartag narrowed his eyes "Even so, this duel is over, you've lost. I have the most powerful monster and more life points. You may as well give up"

Sereda shook her head "One thing I never do is give up, and thanks to you, I have a full hand" Sereda then drew her card and looked at it and smiled "I have what I need to end this duel, first I play the spell card Monster Reborn which allows me to summon a monster from my graveyard. And the monster I choose to bring out is my ultimate monster, a god among the Dwarfs, say hello to Dwarven Paragon." A tall Dwarf wearing fancy robes and holding a staff and looked godlike appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3500 Defence 3000) "And my Paragon gains 200 attack points for every Dwarven Monster in my graveyard, so with five in my graveyard, that's 1000 attack points." The spirits of the fallen Dwarven Monsters appeared and then were absorbed by the Paragon (DP Attack 3500-4500). "And now I play a field spell known as Orzammar, as long as this field spell is in play, all Dwarven Monsters gain 500 attack points" the field changed into a large underground city and the Paragon started glowing (DP Attack 4500-5000). "And I have one last card to play, the spell card Election, now by discarding two cards from my hand, I can special summon a Level or higher Dwarven Monster from my deck and I choose my Dwarven Shaperate" an old Dwarf holding a scroll appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 2600). "And as long as he's on the field, all Dwarven Monsters gain 500 extra attack points, also since one of the cards I discarded was my Dwarven Silent Sister, my Paragon gains an additional 200 attack points." Both the Shaperate and Paragon glowed as they gained even more power (DS Attack 2500-3000) (DP Attack 5000-5700).

Vartag widened his eyes and gasped as now that Paragon had enough attack points to end this duel.

And he was right "Now Dwarven Paragon, attack Berserkion and end this duel!" Sereda shouted and then Paragon started glowing and then let out a large beam of light from the staff which struck Beserkion and the monster exploded and blew Vartag back onto his back.

 **Sereda: 700 (Winner)  
Vartag: 0000**

The crowd all cheered and clapped for Sereda's victory, even Crowler and Zane who looked revealed that Sereda had won "She did it" Crowler smiled "She really did it

Sereda sighed in relief, she had managed to survive this duel but now she would have to watch as someone was dragged down to the mines. She watched as several guards stepped onto the arena and then Duke Antoine stepped forward from his balcony.

"People of Wycome" he called "Today we have new Champion, after so many years, Vartag's luck has run out. It's time to greet our new Champion, Sereda has managed to defeat our Champion and is now the new Champion of the Arena and as our tradition tells us, Vartag no longer has any use to us anymore." Everyone watched as the guards picked up Vartag and dragged him away "Soon we will all get the chance to greet our new Champion and she will hopefully give us further shows in the future."

Zane and Crowler looked at each other "I think we've just found a way to speak to Sereda" Zane stated

"We'll have to do it fast and then get out of her" Crowler added "We need to gets out of this place as soon as we an. I can't stand it here"

Sereda looked around as the people began chanting her name but she felt ashamed of this. She had forced people into a life of Slavery and now she was seen as a Hero for what she did. Sereda knew that she had to get out of her but when she looked into the crowd, she saw Dr Crowler and Zane Truesdale. Maybe she had a chance to get out of this place and she would take it. But she would have to come up with a plan with help from her friends.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: I'm sorry with how long this chapter took but I was really busy with my University work. And now I have to start work on other work since I have 3 assignments due at the end of March but I will try and do some writing in the meantime. This chapter introduces the final faction but this faction won't be that important. Next chapter will see the return of a character that we haven't seen in a while but first of all, I plan to write a chapter on a story that I haven't done for a while.**

 **Created Cards:  
Magnetic Poles: Countinious Spell: All Magnet and Electromagnet Warriors gain 200 attack points.**

 **Grave Magnet: Normal Spell: When this card is activated, remove 1 Alpha, Beta and Gamma Magnet Warriors from grave, special summon 1 Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from grave in attack mode.**


	18. Ancient Gems:

**Ancient Gems:**

Most of the Hissing Wastes was a desert wasteland reduced to this due to years of drought that came after the fall of the Dragon Faction during the fight against the Zombie and Fiend factions. This land was once one of the wealthiest areas of the Dragon Faction and held many ancient cities and fortresses. Most of them now have vanished from the land. Some have been buried in the sands of the desert and others have vanished entirely. But there are a few that still exist but are completely abandoned.

One such place was an old fortress known as Griffin Wing Keep. This old fortress had once been one of the largest fortresses in the land and had been an important part of the war against the Fiend and Zombie faction. The fortress was said to have one held out for months until reinforcements arrived and was one of the few fortresses left in the region after the war ended. However when the land changed into a desert wasteland, the keep was abandoned as there was no use for the keep anymore and the keep remained abandoned.

Now Griffin Wing Keep was being used again but this time by the people it once fought against. The Venatori had taken this keep to use as their headquarters for their missions in the Wastes. They had taken the keep for several reasons; one was because the Keep was one of the few locations where fresh water was available. The Keep had an underground lake as well as a lagoon nearby for more water. The Keep was also very close to several other ruins in the region such as an old prison known as Coracavus which held very important prisoners. There was also an old research outpost south of the Keep as well as some very old ruins west.

Several senior members of the Venatori led the operations from the keep. These members were not part of the Elder One's senior circle like Livius or Gordian but they were still very important members. The man leading the operations was a man known as Macrinus who had tanned skin along with a thick black beard and he wore a dark robe which mostly covered his face. Along with Macrinus was Lucanus, a Venatori member who was one of those assigned to hunt for the final Old God card in the Wastes. The final senior member was Servis who was also hunting for the card.

The three of them were discussing what they have done "So" Macrinus stated "Did any of you two found any sign of the Old God?

Servis shook his head "The old prison is pretty much empty" he stated "There was nothing there except old documents which only talk about the prisoners that were once held there. Many of the tunnels were caved in and there was nothing of use to us."

Macrinus looked at Lucanus "Did you have any luck?" he asked

"I check the ruins to the west of here" Lucanus claimed "After visiting the research tower to the south of here, the main research base here was the old ruins located in the mountains. After a while of searching, I found it and have left some of my men there. However, the ruins are sealed shut so we're trying to find a way inside"

"Well you better otherwise the Elder One will be furious with us" Macrinus stated "And he is not that forgiving"

It was then that a scout came in "I'm sorry to intrude but some scouts arrived and they have news"

Macrinus opened the scroll that was given to him and he read it "Interesting" he stated "It seems that the friends of the girl that the Elder One wanted are in the region. They were spotted at the arena in Wycome."

"Wycome?" Lucanus gasped "That puts our operations at risk"

"Then we should take care of them" Servis stated

Macrinus looked at him "Not us" he stated "You. You know more about them than we do and your mission here is complete. I'm sending you over there to take care of them."

"I don't have the crystallising powers that the others do but I can make sure that they don't come here" Servis stated "But before I head out, I need to find out which of these friends they are."

Macrinus looked at the message again "It seems that it includes that short haired girl who is now a champion of the arena. The others include that greenish haired kid along with the male teacher who looks like a girl"

"Right" Servis stated "I know who it is and I know what to do" he turned and left leaving Macrinus and Lucanus alone.

Lucanus looked at Macrinus "Are you sure he can be trusted to do this?" he asked

"Don't worry" Macrinus stated "Gordian's brainwashing has full control over him. He's been a useful tool for the Venatori and he was trained in that harsh environment where he's going now. He'll be strong enough now that he'll be using his full deck including the cards he was unable to use last time.

…

In the city of Wycome, Sereda had now been given a new room and unlike her last room, this room was much better and it seemed more like a room to sleep in instead of a cell. However, while Sereda was allowed to wander around the city, she wasn't allowed to leave as she had tried but had not been allowed to leave. She was now wandering around the streets and watched as people cheered her. While it was nice to be seen as a Hero, here it wasn't that great as she had sent some people into a life of slavery to get this far. Eventually she came to a more quiet area of the city and sighed as now she finally had some time to herself until she heard someone call her name. Sereda looked around and saw blue hair in one of the alleys. She ran over but saw no one, she looked around again to see if there was anyone around but there wasn't.

She was about to leave until someone grabbed her and she started to struggle until a familiar voice spoke up "Take it easy Sereda" the voice of Zane hissed "It's just me and Crowler"

Zane let Sereda go and she glared at him "Why did you grab me?" she demanded "You scared me then"

"We needed to make sure that no one was around" Crowler stated "We've been wandering around here looking for someone. We saw your duel and we were glad that we've found someone else but there is no sign of the others."

"I have no idea where the others are either" Sereda claimed "I've been here the whole time ever since I got here. When I woke up, I was inside a cell and they forced me into the tournament. But even though I am now a champion, I still can't leave"

"Well we'll just have to break out then" Zane stated "Tonight me and Crowler can distract the guards at the gates with our monsters and we can escape then."

"Fine" Sereda stated "I'll find you at the gate, but first I'll have to escape my guards, my room is guarded at night"

"Well we'll just have to wait then" Crowler stated "Good luck Sereda"

"Thanks Doctor" Sereda stated as she left leaving Crowler and Zane alone.

...

Later that night, Sereda was inside the new room she had been given. She now lived in luxury rather than the cell where she lived before. The room had a comfortable bed along with a place to sit down. But there was one drawback; the door was guarded at all times so she would be unable to leave that way. However no one had thought about the window. Sereda opened the window and began to climb out. Just below her window was a small ledge so she carefully climbed down to that and entered a new room through a different window. She went over to the new door and opened it slowly; she smirked when she saw that there was no guard and so she quickly left the room and closed the door so that she wouldn't alert anyone. Then she quickly snuck through the tower and down the stairs until she came to the main door, this door would lead outside. After being in the city for a few days, she knew many of the streets and how to get to where Zane and Crowler wanted to meet her. So after making sure that the coast was clear, she left the tower and ran into the streets.

...

Over at the meeting place, Crowler and Zane waited patiently for Sereda to arrive. This was dangerous as there were patrols around the area and if they were caught, then everything that they have done would have been for nothing. They had been waiting for a long time and there was still no sign of Sereda.

"Where could she be?" Crowler questioned

"Remember she has to get here through the streets" Zane reminded "And they're crawling with guards."

"I just hope she hasn't been discovered and captured because if she has, then I don't know how we're going to get her out of this place" Crowler stated

Then right on time, Sereda arrived and smirked "Well it's a good job that I haven't been captured" she stated which made Crowler and Zane turn around and see her "Sorry I took so long, I had trouble getting here, these streets are guarded all over and I had to wait all over in order to get here."

"Well now that you're here, we can get out of this place" Crowler stated

"But how will we do that?" Sereda asked

Zane smirked "Remember that Alexius said that duelling is used for war here so our monsters are real. I will use one of mine to distract the guards and then Crowler will use one of his to break this weak spot on the wall."

"We'll have to be quick" Sereda stated "We only have one shot at this"

"It's now or never" Zane stated as he drew some cards from his deck "Now Cyber Twin Dragon, distract the guards." The two cyber dragons appeared and were sucked into a portal and a large two headed machine dragon appeared over the city.

All over the city, the guards looked up at the massive machine which was emitted a large amount of light. They had never seen anything like it. Zane saw that the distraction was working "Now Crowler, do it now while they're distracted."

Crowler drew his card and then used it "Ancient Gear Engineer, make a hole it that wall" a large rusty robot with a drill on one hand appeared and then placed his drill against the wall and very quickly, the drill made a large gap in the wall "Come on" Crowler hissed "Let's go now and get away." The three of them climbed through the hole that had been made and they quickly ran as fast as they could. They could have used one of their monsters but creating these monsters required strength which was difficult for them and they needed to be prepared for anything.

However, one person saw them escape. The Venatori agent Servis stood on a nearby tower and watched as they left but Servis just smirked "Don't think that you're out of danger yet" he sneered to himself "It's time for you to see just how powerful I really am." Servis then vanished in a flash of light.

...

Daylen, Neria, Aedan and Kallian stared at the place that they had been sent to. Fiona had taken them to a place that she suspected may be attacked soon and so she had led a group of Spellcasters towards the fortress known as Andoral's Reach. Daylen wondered if this fortress had something to do with the Old God cards as one of the Old God cards was known as Andoral, Old God of Slaves.

The fortress itself looked like it was disused for many years. The old walls were crumbling and the wooden structures had rotted away. The main Gate still held strong and that was a key feature for this castle as the castle was built in a small gorge and blocked the way. This castle was basically, the main gateway into the Spellcaster territory. The border between the Spellcaster territory and the Bufferlands was very mountainous and this was the only path through the mountains so the Warrior Army would have to capture this fortress in order to get into the Spellcaster lands. But the path towards the castle also ran alongside a large lake and the only way to get towards the keep was to take a long road that went past the fortress of Redcliffe which was also a strong fortress.

Daylen looked at Fiona who was busy directing a few soldiers along "So, what is the history of this place?" he asked "And why is this castle only recently being manned, if this fortress was so important, why has it been neglected for many years?"

Fiona sighed "With the Fortress of Redcliffe being built, this castle was no longer needed so we maintained close relations with the Water Faction of Redcliffe since they guard the only path towards the mountains. But with the war going on, that place has been attacked many times but has always been repelled."

"So what's changed?" Aedan asked

"This war has been dragging on for some time and Commander Meredith wants to defeat us in one strike" Fiona claimed "Our reports say that she is gathering every soldier she has and plans to take on Redcliffe, with that many troops, Redcliffe may not survive and then we'll be next. If this fortress is captured as well then the Warrior Faction may have won since they'll have a gateway into our territory."

"Well then we'll do our best to help hold off an assault" Neria stated

"And I would like to capture one member of this Warrior Faction so I can question him about my sister's location." Daylen stated

"And maybe we can use that prisoner to find a way to stop Meredith." Fiona stated

"Well we must be ready" Kallian stated as she walked over to them "Because I have a feeling that our mission is going to get even more difficult."

Kallian, Aedan and Neria left while they went to prepare leaving Daylen and Fiona alone. Daylen looked at Fiona "So what is the history of this place?" he asked "The name Andoral sounds very familiar to me" he did not reveal the Old God card.

But Fiona already knew the name "Andoral was the name of one of the Ancient Dragon Gods" she stated "This fortress wasn't just a military outpost; it was also the slave pens for captured slaves. Despite the heroic stories of the Dragon Faction, they practised Slavery a lot and used the minor factions for their slaves although research shows that many of these slaves were criminals. The Warrior Faction at the time created Slave soldiers for the Dragon Faction. Andoral was the God of Slaves and his temple is not far from here so the name Andoral's Reach was used and the name just stuck."

Daylen looked at Fiona and then back over the horizon, he was worried about his sister but he was also worried about the Old God cards. There were seven of them and four of them were already in the Venatori's hands while two were in Solona and Daylen's hands while the last one was still missing. He hoped that they would be able to find it first because if they didn't then the Venatori would be even stronger than before.

…

Crowler, Zane and Sereda walked along the path as they tried to get as far away from the city as they could. They didn't want to travel along the path for fear of a patrol from Wycome coming from behind and capturing them. But they couldn't travel off the path because they would get lost. So at Night, they would hide and one of them would take watch for different parts of the night and then someone else takes over after a few hours in order to watch for someone coming after them.

Eventually, the three of them arrived at what looked like a small pass through a gorge and they stopped "I don't like this" Sereda stated "This is just the perfect place for an ambush"

Zane looked around "But this is the only way ahead" he stated

"Zane's right" Crowler added "If we go back then we'll just be going back the way we came. This is the only way"

"But we'll go with caution" Zane stated "So at least we'll be ready"

But just as they were about to go through the pass, there was a loud laugh "Or maybe the threat will just reveal himself now" the three of them gasped in shock and looked around for the source of the voice, but then they were blinded by a flash of light and when the light faded, a new person stood in front of them blocking the path through the gorge.

Sereda recognised him "I know you" she stated "You Servis" Servis had changed his clothes, instead of wearing his Obelisk Blue uniform; he wore a white robe which had the Venatori symbol written on.

Servis smirked "Yes, it is me and now I can reveal my true colours"

"I can't believe you work for the Venatori" Zane hissed "We trusted you and you spied on us"

Servis smirked "You may have been able to trust the original me" he stated "The Venatori took me as a child and trained me to be the best before they sent me to Duel Academy in the world that I came from. You three of you currently threaten our plans here and so I must duel one of you to send a message"

"And who will you face?" Sereda demanded

Servis smirked "You did an amazing job at Wycome, not many people can beat Vartag, I duelled him once before he was a champion and I barely managed to pull through. But they didn't send him to the mines since that duel was a friendly. I could duel the new champion but I have someone else in mind" he eyed Crowler which the teacher noticed

"You want to duel me?" Crowler questioned

"I sure do" he stated "I watched you duel back at Duel Academy and I want to see how good you really are"

"Well I spent nine years in duelling school and have a PHD in duelling" Crowler smirked

Servis shook his head "That won't help you here, and its worse for you since now I can use the full power of my deck. The Restrictions of your world won't hold me back this time so now I can use the full power of my deck." Servis then pulled out a new duel disk, back at Duel Academy, he used a normal Duel Academy Duel disk but now he was using one that looked like a black dragon wing. Crowler normally used his duelling vest and like the other Duel Disks, that had also arrived with Crowler in his bag which he took out and the two duel Disks were activated. The two duellists then drew 5 cards each.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Crowler: 8000  
Servis: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Servis sneered as he drew his sixth card "And now I play the spell card Gem Knight Fusion which allows me to fuse Gem Knights Tourmaline and Emerald in my hand in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Topaz in attack mode." The green knight and the yellow thunder knight appeared on the field and they were then sucked into a portal and an orange knight wielding two axes appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1800 Defence 1800). "And I still have my normal summon so I summon Gem Knight Garnet in attack mode" the red pyro knight appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 0) "And that will do it for my turn"

Zane looked worried "Crowler needs to do something about that Topaz otherwise Servis will have a huge advantage"

"Why's that Zane?" Sereda asked

Zane looked at her "Topaz can attack twice each turn and when he destroys a monster, Crowler takes damage equal to that monster's attack points."

Crowler looked at his hand and smirked "I know the effects of that Topaz and what it will do to me next turn. But it won't be around that long. First I'll start by playing the spell card Ancient Gear Castle which gives all my Ancient Gear monsters 300 extra attack points. But it won't be around that long because now I play another spell card, Ancient Gear Catapult, since I control no monsters, I can destroy my castle and then summon 1 Ancient Gear Monster from my deck ignoring the summoning conditions. So now I summon my Great Ancient Gear Golem in attack mode" the massive Golem made from scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 3000).

Sereda gasped "One of Crowler's best monsters and he summoned it on his first turn"

"And I also summon my Ancient Gear Soldier in defence mode to boast my defence" Crowler added and the scrap metal soldier armed with a mini-gun as a hand appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1300 Defence 1300). "And now my Golem will attack Topaz with Mechanized Melee" the Golem threw his fist back and then punched the Golem which broke apart.

 **Crowler: 8000  
Servis: 6800**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Crowler finished

Servis narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card "With a powerful monster on your field, I guess I'll have to go on the defensive, however that Golem deals piercing damage so I'll leave my Garnet how it is. However, I'll summon Gem Knight Sapphire in defence mode." The blue aqua knight appeared on the field kneeling down (Level 4 Attack 0000 Defence 2100). "And I might as well take out that Soldier with my Garnet." The Garnet Gem Knight threw a fireball which struck the Soldier and caused the soldier to crumple into dust. "That will do it for me" Servis finished

"My move" Crowler stated "And I'll just take out that Garnet with my Golem." The Golem threw back his fist and then punched the Garnet which shattered.

 **Crowler: 8000  
Servis: 5700**

"And now I will end my turn" Crowler finished

Servis narrowed his eyes "You may be winning on life points but now you will see what I can do" he drew his card "First I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards." Servis drew two cards from his deck and smirked at one of them but took the other card he drew. "Now I'll play Monster Reborn which allows me to bring Gem Knight Garnet back to the field" the Red Knight returned to the field. "But he won't be around for long, tell me something, have you heard of XYZ?"

"XYZ?" Sereda questioned "I've heard of the XYZ monsters that Chazz uses in the A-Z archetype"

Servis laugh "It's true that there are cards like that but that's not what I meant" he took a card from his extra deck and showed it to Crowler "I meant this?"

Crowler looked confused at the card "A black card, but there are no black cards in Duelling"

"There are in this Dimension and now you'll about to see it." Servis sneered "I overlay my Garnet and Sapphire in order to build the Overlay network" the two Gem Knights turned into particles and were absorbed by a black portal on the floor. "Now I'll show you a new Knight that is made of small balls. I XYZ summon Gem Knight Pear in attack mode." A new Gem Knight appeared that wore white armour and had white balls surrounding him (Rank 4 Attack 2600 Defence 1900). "Now those monsters that I used to summon him are now Overlay units which are used to activate XYZ monsters special abilities, but sadly Pearl has no abilities but a new knight were. I play the spell card Rank up Gem Power, now I can use my Pearl in order to summon a XYZ monster that's one rank higher." Pearl was sucked into a portal with her two overlay units "Go, Rank up XYZ Revolution, I XYZ summon Gem Knight Jade in attack mode" a Gem Knight wearing pale green armour and wielding a sword appeared on the field (Rank 5 Attack 2800 Defence 2300)

"But that monster isn't strong enough to take on my Golem" Crowler stated "So what was the point of that?"

Servis smirked "Remember that I said these Overlay units activate my Gem Knight's ability and now I will use one of these Overlay units which allows me to destroy that Golem"

"What!" Crowler gasped as then one of the overlay units was absorbed by Jade's sword which then glowed and Jade pointed it as the Golem and a beam of green light shot from the sword which struck the Golem and exploded, when the dust cleared, the Golem collapsed and shattered.

"And now that you monster is gone, my Jade can attack you directly" Servis smirked and then Jade powered his sword and then charged and slashed Crowler causing him to yell in pain and fall to his knees

 **Crowler: 5200  
Servis: 5700**

"And that will do it for me" Servis smirked "Now that you've seen the power of what I can really do, are you going to give in"

Crowler narrowed his eyes and then stood up "Never!" he growled "I never give in, you may have taken out my Golem but now I can activate my facedown card, Damage Condenser. Now I can summon a monster from my deck with equal or less attack points than the damage I just took so now I summon Ancient Gear Hydra in attack mode." A massive three headed mechanical Hydra made from scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 1700)

"I fail to see what he can do" Servis sneered "I place one card facedown and then end my turn"

"Well now it's my turn" Crowler stated as he drew his card.

Servis smirked "Well whatever you're planning, it won't work." He stated "I know that I can't activate my facedowns when your Ancient Gears attack so I'll activate it now, Thunder of Ruler so now you can't declare an attack this turn"

Crowler groaned "Then I guess I'll just have to boast my defence" he stated "I summon Ancient Gear Gadget in defence mode" a large metal gear appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 500 Defence 2000) "And then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown"

Servis smirked "I guess this will be easier than I thought" he stated "I play my spell card Polymerization which allows me to fuse Gem Knights Lapis and Obsidian together which allows me to summon out Gem Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli in attack mode" a small female knight along with a knight made of black rocks appeared on the field and merged together to form a lady rock warrior wearing blue armour (Level 5 Attack 2400 Defence 1000). "And since Obsidian was sent from my hand to the grave, I can summon a level 4 or lower normal monster from my grave so Garnet returns to the field." The red pyro Gem Knight returned to the field. "And now I will activate my Jade's special ability again which allows me to destroy that Hydra" Jade's sword absorbed another Overlay unit and then blasted Hydra which blew apart "And now my Lady Lapis Lazuli will attack that Gadget" Lapis sent a show of shard which struck the Gadget and blew him apart. "And now my Jade will attack you directly" Jade drew his sword and charged at Crowler.

"Crowler!" Sereda gasped

But Crowler smirked "You know, you should be careful when you attack with a powerful monster. Because I might have something ready for it"

Servis gasped when he remembered Crowler's facedown "Oh no, you laid a trap?"

"I did" Crowler confirmed "And since you fell for it, I can activate Sakuretsu Armour which destroys your Jade" a suit of black armour was equipped to Jade which began to crush him and the warrior shattered.

Zane smiled "I guess there are ways to take out these XYZ monsters" he stated

Servis narrowed his eyes "Well I can still have Garnet attack you directly" Garnet fired another fireball which caused Crowler to cringe as he burnt.

 **Crowler: 3300  
Servis: 5700**

"And now I will end my turn" Servis stated

Crowler drew his card 'Even I have to admit that this duel is not going to be easy' he thought 'but I have to pull through and thankfully, I have the cards to help me with it.' He picked on of his cards "I'll start by playing the spell Card of Sanctity so now we both get to draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands" Crowler and Servis drew until they held 6 cards in their hand. "Now I will play my own Polymerization which allows me to fuse my Ancient Gears Box and Engineer together in order to fusion summon Ancient Gear Howitzer in attack mode" a large monster made from different machine parts appeared on the field equipped with cannons (Level 8 Attack 1000 Defence 1800). "I will also summon my Ancient Gear Wyvern in attack mode" a mechanical Wyvern made from scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200). "And then I will play my second copy of Ancient Gear Castle in my hand which gives my Ancient Gears 300 attack points" a massive castle appeared behind Crowler and his Ancient Gears glowed as they gained power (AGW Attack 1700-2000) (AGH Attack 1000-1300). "And before I attack, I'll activate Howitzer's ability which deals you 1000 points of damage" One of Howitzer's cannons fired a shot which blew Servis back a bit.

 **Crowler: 3300  
Servis: 4700**

"And now my Howitzer will attack your Garnet" Crowler stated which shocked everyone since Howitzer was weaker than Garnet. Garnet fired a shot which Garnet resisted and then Garnet threw a fireball back which blew Howitzer to pieces.

 **Crowler: 2700  
Servis: 4700**

"Why would Crowler do that?" Sereda questioned "He knew that Howitzer was weaker than that Garnet"

Zane smiled "Crowler played smart" he stated which made Sereda look at him in surprise "Sure Crowler took damage but now he can use Howitzer's other ability. He did the same thing against the Shadow Rider Camula."

Crowler smirked "That's right, and now that Howitzer has been destroyed, I can summon any Ancient Gear monster from my deck, so now I summon Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon in attack mode" a large mechanical dragon made of scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 3000 Defence 3000). "Now Reactor Dragon, attack Lady Lapis with Steam Breath" the Reactor Dragon fired a blast of hot steam which caused Lady Lapis to burn and then shatter.

 **Crowler: 2700  
Servis: 3800**

"And don't think that I forgot about my Wyvern so now he will attack your Garnet" the Wyvern swooped and shot through Garnet and destroyed him.

 **Crowler: 2700  
Servis: 3700**

"And now I will end my turn" Crowler finished

Zane smiled "It seems Crowler has managed to make a comeback, sure he has less life points but now he has a powerful monster on my field"

Servis sneered "But that won't be around for long" he stated as he drew his card "I play the spell card Brilliant Fusion so now I can fusion summon from my deck so I fuse Gem Knights Iolite, Lazuli and Alexandrite in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond in attack mode" a warrior made from diamonds and holding a large sword appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3400 Defence 2000). "However since she was fusion summoned with Brilliant Fusion, her attack points become 0 but I can reverse that by discarding my Burial from a Different Dimension from my hand so now her attacks points are her own until the end of your turn. And my Diamond is stronger than that Reactor Dragon so I will take out that Dragon which is a bigger threat" the Diamond Lady swung her sword and slashed Reactor Dragon which then exploded.

 **Crowler: 2600  
Servis: 3700**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Servis finished

Crowler groaned and looked at Servis 'No matter what I do he always finds a way to defeat my powerful monsters' he thought 'but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up' he looked at his deck. 'With only one card in my hand, this draw must count' he drew his card "I play my own Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards." Crowler drew two more cards from his deck and smiled at them "I now play the spell card Ancient Gear Factory, this card allows me to summon my second copy of my Golem in my hand by banishing Ancient Gear monsters in my grave that have a combined level double my monster so I banish my Reactor Dragon along with hydra to summon my Golem" piles of scrap metal appeared in the factory which then formed the Golem. "And now I play another spell card Ancient Gear, this card allows me to fuse monsters on my hand and field to fusion summon and Ancient Gear Fusion monster. However if I use my Ancient Gear Golem, then I can use monsters from my deck as well so I will use my second copy of my Golem in my hand along with my Ancient Gear Beast and Frame in my deck." The three Ancient Gear monsters appeared on the field and were sucked into a portal. "Unite all the wisdom and savagery of ages past to create a brutal behemoth. I fusion summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem." A massive machine that looked like a centaur with Ancient Gear Golem's body appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 4400 Defence 3400). "And thanks to my Caste, he gains 300 attack points" The Golem gained even more power (UAGG Attack 4400-4700). "Now my Ultimate Golem will attack your Diamond" The Golem lifted his fist and brought it down on Lady Brilliant Diamond which crushed her in an instant.

 **Crowler: 2600  
Servis: 2400**

"And I still have my Wyvern's attack so he will attack as well" Crowler added and hen Wyvern swooped through Servis which threw him back.

 **Crowler: 2600  
Servis: 400**

"And now I will end my urn" Crowler finished

Servis stood up and glared at Crowler "You think by summoning that powerful monster and knocking my life points down means that you've won?" he hissed "Well you're wrong because you've made your last move"

Sereda noticed that Servis didn't look like he was joking "I have a bad feeling about this." She stated

Servis drew his card "I'll start by activating my facedown card, Fragment Fusion."

"Another Fusion card?" Zane questioned

"Now I can remove monsters in my grave to fusion summon a Gem Knight Fusion monster" Servis stated "So now I remove Garnet and Obsidian in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Ruby in attack mode" a red gem knight wearing a blue cape and holding a large axe appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1300). "However since he was summoned with Fragment Fusion, he will be destroyed at the end of the turn but I won't need to wait for that. Now I play the spell card Monster reborn to bring back Topaz" the Topaz Gem Knight returned to the field.

Sereda looked confused "But that doesn't make much sense?" she questioned "None of those monsters can defeat that Ultimate Golem."

Zane remembered about XYZ summoning and that the two Gem Knights had the same level and he widened his eyes and gasped "He won't need them, he's going to XYZ summon again."

Servis sneered "I sure am" he stated "Now I overlay Topaz and Ruby to build the overlay network." The two Level 6 Fusion monsters were sucked into the portal "Now I XYZ summon Gem Knight Malachite in attack mode" a pale green armoured knight with large mace appeared on the field (Rank 6 Attack 3000 Defence 2500). Servis sneered "Sure he's not as powerful as your Golem but now I use his ability, I remove one overlay unit to activate Malachite's ability, now he gains half the attack points of one monster on your field. So he gained half the attack points of your Golem." Crowler gasped as Malachite glowed and gained power (GKM Attack 3000-5350).

Crowler gasped as he realised that the duel was over but he couldn't say anything.

Servis smirked "Can't think of anything to say?" he mocked "Well then, try this on, Malachite attack that Wyvern" Malachite swung his mace and smashed the Wyvern which exploded and blew Crowler back who screeched and fell face first to the floor.

 **Crowler: 0000  
Servis: 400 (Winner)**

Zane and Sereda gasped in shock when Crowler fell to the floor "Doctor Crowler!" Sereda gasped

Servis laughed and walked over to the fallen Crowler who looked up at him "You should consider yourself lucky." He stated "I could have turned you into a crystal which we would have used to power our magic. However my Duel Disk is not equipped to do that. I was just sent to send a message to you, stay out of our way."

Zane narrowed his eyes "You Venatori are after our friend and trying to take over the world and we won't let that happen!" he hissed

Servis smirked "Well if you carry on going after us then this won't end well for you. If I were you, I would suggest you leave us alone and go back to where you came from and leave us to our plans." He pressed a button on his duel disk and Servis faded into a black cloud and vanished from sight.

Zane and Sereda ran over to Crowler and helped him up "Doctor Crowler!" Sereda gasped "Are you alright?"

Crowler gave a few deep breathes "I'm alright but that duel has knocked the energy from me" he stated "I need a rest."

Zane sighed "This could have been a lot worst and we may not be as lucky next time" he stated and then he looked at where Servis had vanished "And I know one more thing, these Venatori are more dangerous than we thought."

 **Chapter end:**

 **Author Notes: Well here's another chapter and a character that we haven't seen in a while. I showed a bit of Servis' past but basically, he was kidnapped by the Venatori and brainwashed to use as a spy. He will play a bigger role later on but I have introduced some created XYZ cards. Next chapter will be different and you will see why but I'm also planning to start a new Fanfiction story which will be up soon.**

 **Created Cards:**

Gem Knight Jade: XYZ Rank 5 Rock Type, Earth Attribute: Attack 2800 Defence 2300.  
Once per turn, you can remove one overlay unit from this card and destroy one monster on your opponent's field.

Gem Knight Malachite: XYZ Rank 6 Rock Type, Earth Attribute: Attack 3000 Defence 2500.  
You can remove one overlay unit from this card and this monster gains half the attack points of a monster on your opponent's field until the end of this turn.


	19. Through Warrior Eyes:

**Through Warrior Eyes:**

In a hidden location which was used as the headquarters of the Venatori, the leaders had gathered and had called someone to meet them. The location was one of the old Temples to the Old Gods of the Dragon Faction and this one was the large temple of Dumat, the God of Silence. The Elder One was there along with Livius, Gordian, Calpernia, Duhaime and Samson. They had called Servis over so he could give his report. Servis told them about his victory over Crowler but some members weren't as happy.

"You beat one of the members of the group that are hunting us and you didn't turn him into a power jewel!" Livius hissed "Do you know what you have done?"

"I was following my orders!" Servis snapped "I was told to find them since they were getting close to our relic hunting and Lucanus believes that we are getting close to finding the final Old God card. If they had found us them our mission would have been in trouble. Beside my duel disk is not equipped to turn people into crystals. I was told to scare them and make sure they stay away. And I was able to scare them with my duel because this Crowler is a very skilled duellist."

The Elder One looked at him "Never mind that now" he hissed "We've got other things to worry about." He turned to Duhaime "How are you allies doing hunting in the forest?"

Duhaime looked at him "The Freemen are still trying to enter the old ruins that we've found however they have ran into a problem. It seems that some of that girl's friends have arrived in the Forest. They've already taken out Costeau and now some members are starting to question us about our motives."

The Elder One shook his head "We cannot allow that. Send someone over to ensure they stay in line."

Samson nodded "I've send Carroll over to make sure they keep loyal to us" he stated

"Good" The Elder One nodded and then he turned to Gordian "Have you found any idea on where the girl is?" he demanded

Gordian smirked "Yes, my agents have found the girl and she is currently at Redcliffe. Now all we need to do it attack the city and we'll have the girl"

Samson shook his head "I don't think that will be necessary" he stated "Denam has reported that the Warrior Faction will be making a move on Redcliffe soon. The war has been in a stalemate and now the Warrior Faction plans to break that by taking Redcliffe and then moving onto Andoral's Reach. I can have Denam capture the girl at Redcliffe; he is one of my best men"

"Do it" The Elder One ordered "And now I will like to speak with Livius alone" everyone except the Elder One and Livius left the room and the Elder One turned to Livius "How go your plans to take control of them?" he asked

"They are going well" Livius stated "We may have 4 of the Old Gods but so far, you only have 2 of them. Calpernia and Samson have the other two. Samson is already mostly being controlled by you but Calpernia is more difficult and she's more loyal to herself than to you. But once we have control of her, her card will be yours"

"Good" The Elder One sneered "But make sure that this remains secret, if she finds out then we'll lose one of our cards"

"I'll make sure that she doesn't find out" Livius stated and then he too left the room.

...

In a large camp in the middle of a large field, there were many tents set up and people dressed in armour marching around. Several were in practice duels with duel disks activated and some looked determined while others looked scared but it was unclear who or what they were scared of.

Standing by an area where one of these duels were taking place was a tall muscular bald headed man with a thick grey bear. He was glaring at everyone who walked past him and they looked at him in fear. His armour was also thicker than the others so he was clearly a much higher rank. Just then, one of the defeated duellists was thrown back and groaned as he hit the floor. The man walked over to him and dragged him roughly to his feet "You better improve your skills slacker" he snapped "The Warrior Faction does not tolerate slackers or people who fall behind. When you fight for us, you must believe in it and any weak links will get severally punished. He showed his duel disk where a bright light started glowing.

"Yes Commander Alrik!" the man whimpered in fear "I will improve"

Alrik snorted "You see, you've just proven that you are weak by whimpering" he held up his duel disk.

"No, Alrik, please no!" the man begged and then the light engulfed him and the fallen duellist vanished and a small crystal was ejected from the duel disk.

Alrik turned to the others "Now that you've all seen what happens to the weak, I want you all to improve. Because if you don't, then you'll suffer the same fate as this weakling" the man all nodded in fear "Now get back to training, in a few days, we'll be marching!"

The men nodded and left while Alrik turned around and walked away until he was stopped by another man. This man also wore heavier armour than the other soldiers but it was not as decorative as Alrik's was. This man also had thick ginger hair and a thick ginger beard "Ser Alrik" the man stated "Commander Meredith wants to see us."

Alrik nodded "Alright Ser Karras" he stated "Let's go" both he and Karras walked over to the largest tent in the camp where they saw their commander standing in front of a table.

Commander Meredith stared at her top two commanders as they entered the tent "I asked the two of you to be here so that we can plan our move against Redcliffe"

Alrik looked at Meredith "You know I will follow you anywhere commander" he stated "But we've attacked Redcliffe several times before and we've always failed, how are we going to succeed this time?"

Meredith smirked "This time we're going to send everything against Redcliffe, I've ordered Cullen and all the other hunters we have back here so they can join us. Cullen is a skilled duellist and we will need him on this. Rylock has also reported that Teagan has sent a small scouting force out of the town, we will capture them and then we will use our new interrogation trick to see if there is any other way into the fortress instead of the main gate."

"I like this plan" Karras stated "But there is one thing I am worried about, if we send everyone we have against Redcliff, it will leave our home vulnerable against those traitor warriors led by Thrask. They may be small in number but they are well trained."

Meredith sneered at that name "Thrask doesn't have nearly enough warriors to do much damage. Every member of the Warrior Faction has been trained to fight and they can hold off Thrask's small force. Even if they were lucky, we'll just returned and take them out just like we'll do to the Spellcasters"

Karras didn't say anything but looked at Meredith "So once we take Redcliffe, what do we do next?" he asked

Meredith looked at the map "After we've taken Redcliffe, we'll march on towards the Spellcaster territory and towards the fortress of Andoral's Reach. That guards the gateway into spellcaster territory, it may be a ruin but it will be well defended and I bet Fiona will have sent everyone she has towards that fortress. Once we beat them and capture that fortress, then we'll have access to Spellcaster Territory. Then all we need we need to do to take their capital of Cumberland and the rest of their territory shall fall. This war has gone on for some time now. Now it is time to start the beginning of the end of the war. Once we take Redcliffe then we will start the end of this war and we'll march into Spellcaster Territory and they'll soon submit to us and then this world will finally have peace."

Alrik looked at Meredith "Understood commander" he stated

Meredith looked at her second on command "You have your orders Alrik, start preparing the men to march."

Alrik nodded "Understood commander" he stated and then he left the tent to start gathering the men.

…

In the Brecilian forest far away from the Warrior Camp, there was a small fortress where the Freemen had made their camp. General Maliphant along with Ser Auguste were meeting in order to discuss their plans.

"General Samson is sending one of his top men here to see how we are doing!" Maliphant snapped "He means to make sure we stay in line with them"

"I admit, I'm starting to doubt our helpers now" Auguste stated "They promised us that they would help us establish our own kingdom but instead all they've done is use us for their plots."

"I think it's time for us to break our ties" Maliphant stated "I'm going back to the old manor house in order to barricade it." He then looked at Auguste "I want you to go over to that lodge and keep an eye out for this Carroll, we mustn't let them destroy us, I've worked so hard for this, and I will not let it all fall apart now."

"Understood commander" Auguste stated "I'll take a few men and see if they come close" Auguste then left leaving Maliphant alone who sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I sure hope that I don't regret this" he said to himself "I once fought for the Warrior Faction but I never could achieve anything thanks to Alrik. But now I can become someone important and I'll show those Warrior fools what I can do."

Unknown to him, someone was watching outside and before Maliphant could see who it was, the person quickly turned and left leaving no trace that he was here.

…

At the refugee camp led by Fairbanks, Aristide Amell along with Jaden, Alexis, Chazz and Avexis all waited for Theorn to return. He had gone ahead to scout out the area and see if they could find a way out of this forest.

"I don't like the idea of leaving these people behind" Jaden stated "They're going to be vulnerable to these Freemen."

"I don't like it either but we haven't got time" Aristide stated "If we don't find the others and get out of here then we might end up being trapped here."

"Maybe we can thin out this Freemen leadership" Chazz suggested "That way these people might have a better chance, we've already taken out Costeau so why don't we take out another high ranking member"

"That might work but we'll have to be careful that we don't fall into a trap" Aristide stated

It was then that they saw a figure walking along the small cliff that went towards the camp and soon Theorn came into view "Well I managed to get a look at the Freemen and now I know what they're doing now" he stated

"So what are the Freemen doing?" Jaden asked

"Well they are in league with the Venatori" Theorn claimed "They mentioned someone called Samson, I remember him being one of the higher ranked members of the Venatori, and he leads the Warriors known as the Red Templars. I met him when we first encountered the Venatori after he kidnapped Neria just after our test duels in the first year."

"Yeah I remember him as well" Aristide stated "He's not someone we want to mess around with"

Theorn then added "But there are cracks developing between the Freemen and Venatori and it seems the Freemen are beginning to cut ties with the Venatori. They're sending a man called Carroll over here."

"Well maybe the Freemen will destroy itself" Chazz suggested but Alexis shook her head.

"The Venatori will just take direct control over this area" she claimed

Aristide then looked at Theorn "Did they say where they are going?" he asked

Theorn nodded "Maliphant is going to an old manor House while Auguste is going to an old Lodge" he stated

Fairbanks overhead them "That manor is not far from the mine where you rescued those people" he stated "And that Lodge is further away but if we can get into that Manor then we may be safe as we'll have s more guarded place."

Aristide then knew what to do "Well I've decided what we're doing." He said "We'll help Fairbanks capture this Manor and then after that, we're leaving so we can find the others."

They all nodded and soon they began to get ready to start their new mission.

…

Along the road, a massive force made of members of the Warrior Faction marched along the road as they marched towards their destination. Instead of being a small force, nearly every Warrior Duellist from the Warrior Faction had been gathered for their big push towards Redcliffe and then towards the Spellcaster territory. Ser Alrik along with Ser Karras and Ser Rylock road together on their horses, because they were higher ranks, they didn't need to walk on foot like many soldiers.

"I can't wait for us to get to Redcliffe" Karras sneered "Soon we'll be one step further in cleansing this world of spellcaster corruption."

"I also hope that our traitor Evangeline is there" Rylock sneered "I have unfinished business with her."

"Remember you two, our mission is to capture the castle and recover the stolen cards that were stolen from Meredith" Alrik added "Those cards are needed so Meredith can bring peace."

It was then that another Warrior Faction member rode up to them on his horse. This member had blond hair, it was Cullen, the Warrior Faction member who had defeated Neria "I just hope that we have a plan for this" he stated

Alrik glared at Cullen "Are you question our leader?" he spat

Cullen glared back "I am loyal to Commander Meredith" he hissed "And I will help on this mission to end the Spellcaster threat, I may not have been born in the Warrior Territory but I've seen what these Spellcasters do. I just rather we have a plan rather than just attack blindly, Redcliffe is one of the most defendable castles in the Bufferlands and it won't be easy capturing it. Many have tried just like we did and many have failed just like we did."

"We plan to find a secret entrance into the castle" Rylock stated "An old castle like that will have some kind of a secret passageway to sneak into the castle. All we have to do is find it."

Karras then stopped as he head rustling in the bushes "Did you hear that?" he asked and everyone stopped and Alrik held his arm to order the army to stop marching and soon the rustling was heard again.

"We're not alone here" Cullen stated "We are in the Water Faction territory so they must be scouting us."

"Find them" Alrik ordered "We cannot allow them to report us; our march must remain a secret."

The four of them got off their horses and began looking around the bushes. Then just as they got there, they saw several figures run out of the bushes "After them!" Alrik snapped "They must not inform Redcliffe that we're here." Cullen, Rylock, Karras and Alrik quickly got their horses and ran after them. They quickly managed to catch up to them and saw four individuals who had been fleeing. The leader of them looked at the others.

"You guys go!" he ordered "I'll hold them off"

"Are you sure Tomas?" one other member asked

"Don't argue, just go!" Tomas snapped and the other three ran off.

Alrik shook his head "That was pointless" he stated "You're only duelling me in the end." He looked at Karras, Cullen and Rylock "Take care of those three, I take this guys out."

"As you Command Alrik" Karras stated and then the carried on chasing the others while Alrik got off his horse.

"Do you know who I am?" Alrik asked

Tomas nodded "Evangeline told us about you Alrik" he hissed "She said that you were the worst of all the Warriors since you don't care who gets in your way."

Alrik smirked "What she thinks of me won't matter" he sneered "Soon Redcliffe will be under our control"

Tomas smirked "Not when we have the help of a great Dragon Duellist"

That caught Alrik off guard, he had heard about a Dragon Duellist back at Kirkwall but he didn't believe it but right now he had more important things to worry about and so he activated his duel disk which was followed by Tomas.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Alrik: 8000  
Tomas: 8000**

"I'll go first" Alrik sneered as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Noble Knight Gawayn in attack mode" a golden armoured knight appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 500) "Then I will equip him with Noble Arms Caliburn in attack mode which gives him an extra 500 attack points." the warrior was given a new sword which glowed (NKG Attack 1900-2400) "And once per turn thanks to Caliburn, I gain 500 life points so I will take my reward and end my turn" the sword sent golden particles which were absorbed by Alrik.

 **Alrik: 8500  
Tomas: 8000**

Tomas drew his card "First of all I will play the field spell a Legendary Ocean" the field changed into a large underwater sunken city "Now all Water monsters gain 200 attack points and lose 1 level. So now I summon Abyss Soldier in attack mode" a large purple aqua monster appeared on the field wielding a trident (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1300) "And now I will activate his effect, now by discarding one water monster in my hand, I can return 1 card to your hand, so by discarding Atlantian Attack Squid, your Gawayn returns to your hand" the spirit of a squid like monster appeared and then swooped through Gawayn and the Knight vanished and the sword shattered. "But my Squid will be back thanks to Monster Reborn" the Squid appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 0) "Thanks to a Legendary Ocean, my monsters gain 200 attack points but since I control an Aqua monster, my squid gains an additional 800" Both monsters glowed as they gained more attack points (AS Attack 1800-2000) (AAS Attack 1400-2400) "And now both my monsters will attack you directly." Abyss soldier charged forward and stabbed Alrik through the chest with his trident.

 **Alrik: 6500  
Tomas: 8000**

"And now my Atlantian Attack Squid will follow" Tomas added and then the Squid shot through Alrik.

 **Alrik: 4100  
Tomas: 8000**

"You're not going so well for high up you are" Tomas mocked "For the second in command of the Warrior faction, I've already taken out half you attack points in your first turn. I end my turn"

Alrik narrowed his eyes "You just got lucky!" he growled "I'll show you what I can do, first I play Foolish Burial so now I can discard 1 card in my deck to the grave so now I'll send my Noble Knight Artorigus to the grave. And now I will summon Lady of the Lake in attack mode" a lady with blond hair wearing a light purple dress appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 200 Defence 1800)

"An Aqua monster?" Tomas questioned "I thought you Warrior Faction types always used Warriors"

"Are deck have other monsters in them if need be!" Alrik growled "And now that I have normal summoned her, I can special summon a Noble Knight normal monster so now Artorigus returns." A heavily armoured warrior with a large sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1800). "And I still have a few cards I can use so I can now summon again since I play the spell card Double Summon so now I summon Noble Knight Medraut in attack mode" a ginger haired warrior appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1000). "And there is more, my Lady of the Lake is a tuner monster."

Tomas gasped at that "Uh oh, I can see what's coming"

"You should" Alrik sneered "I tune Lady of the Lake with Medraut" the Lady turned into a ring which surrounded Medraut and the monster formed 4 lights and a large beam shot through them. "I Synchro summon Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn in attack mode" a dark haired warrior in black armour and two swords appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 900). "Since he was Synchro summoned, I can equip a Noble Arms card to him from my deck so I equip Noble Arms Gallatin to him which gives him an extra 1000 attack points." One of the swords was replaced with a new shining sword (IKOHL Attack 2100-3100). "And now my Ignoble Knight will attack your Abyss Soldier" the Ignoble knight swung his swords and cut the soldier to pieces.

 **Alrik: 4100  
Tomas: 6900**

"And since you lost your other monster, your Attack squid loses some of his gained attack points" Alrik sneered as the Squid's power faded (AAS Attack 2400-1600) "And now my Artorigus will attack your Squid." The Warrior slashed the squid and destroyed him.

 **Alrik: 4100  
Tomas: 6700**

"And now I will end my turn" Alrik finished "You've just lost your field advantage, you may still have more life points but you're low on cards in your hand and I have two good monsters on my field. Also since my Ignoble attacked, I can add a Noble Knight or Nobles Arms card from my deck to my hand so now I'll add Noble Arms Defese to my hand"

Tomas looked at Alrik "Well then I guess I'll just have to boast my defence" he stated as he drew his card "First I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two extra cards. Then I summon Atlantean Heavy Infantry in defence mode" a scaly underwater monster equipped with two large shields appeared on the field and knelt behind the shields (Level 2 Attack 0 Defence 1600) "And since he's on the field, I can summon another level 4 or lower sea serpent monster from my hand again. So I also summon Atlantean Marksman in defence mode" a green scaly creature armed with a harpoon gun appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 0). Then I'll finish by throwing one card facedown."

Alrik narrowed his eyes at Tomas "My draw!" he hissed

Tomas smirked "If you're thinking of destroying my monsters then you can forget it this turn" he stated "I play my facedown card, Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lords, now until the End Phase, all my level 3 or lower Water monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effect"

Alrik growled "Well I've got something else to use instead" he hissed "Every turn my Ignoble loses 200 attack points thanks to the sword" the sword began to lose power (IKOHL Attack 3100-2900). "But now I'll use the card I got from my Ignoble's effect, Noble Arms Defese." The other sword in Ignoble's hands changed into a larger sword. "This sword doesn't increase my monsters attack but it does however allow him to deal piercing damage." Tomas gasped at that as now it meant that he would take serious damage when that Ignoble attacked his Marksman. "But now I'll also play the spell card Stop Defence which switches your Heavy Infantry to attack mode" the Shield holding sea monster stood up "And now my Ignoble will attack that Marksman" the Ignoble Knight swung both his swords which sent shockwaves that made Tomas groan in pain.

 **Alrik: 4100  
Tomas: 4000**

"And now my Artorigus will attack that Heavy infantry" Alrik added and then the Knight slashed the defence warrior but while the monster survived, Tomas was thrown back.

 **Alrik: 4100  
Tomas: 2400**

"And now I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown" Alrik finished "You may as well give up, you'll never win."

Tomas groaned and narrowed his eyes at Alrik "I'll never give up!" he spat "Unlike you, if I lose then I lose everything and as long as I have a chance to win then I'll do it. And I have that chance thanks to Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards" Alrik and Tomas drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "Then I sacrifice my Marksman so I can summon Poseidra the Atlantean Dragon in attack mode." A large dragon like monster with a trident on its tail appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2800 Defence 1600)

"Wait, that's level 7 so it requires 2 sacrifices."Alrik protested

Tomas smirked "Did you forget my Legendary Ocean, all monsters in my hand decrease by 1 level so she is actually level 6." He stated "But thanks to my Heavy Infantry, I can summon another Level 4 or lower Sea Serpent so I summon Atlantean Dragoons in attack mode" a knight riding two fierce seahorses appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 0). "And now I will also equip my Heavy Infantry with the spell card Atlantean trident with increases his attack points by 1000" The Heavy Infantry took hold of a large golden trident as his attack points increased (AHI Attack 200-1200). "And my Dragoons allows every level 3 or lower Sea serpent to attack you directly and thanks to my Legendary Ocean, my Dragoons is level 4 so attack him" the sea horses charged forward and the knight pierced Alrik with his spear.

 **Alrik: 2100  
Tomas: 2400**

"That will be followed by Heavy Infantry's attack" Tomas added and the Heavy Infantry threw his trident which knocked Alrik back.

 **Alrik:** **900  
Tomas: 2400**

"And finally my Poseidra will attack that Artorigus which will end this duel" Tomas added and the dragon sent out a breath of blue water but then Alrik had a trap ready.

"I play my facedown card" Alrik countered "The trap card shift which switches your attack to my Ignoble instead so I survive this duel." The water blast struck Ignoble instead

 **Alrik: 800  
Tomas: 2400**

Tomas sighed that he had failed to defeat Alrik this turn "I will end my turn" Tomas finished 'now if I can survive this turn, I can finish him on my next turn'

Alrik smirked "That was your last chance to win this duel" he sneered "You won't have a next turn as I'm ending this duel this round. First I banish my Noble Knights Gawayn and Medraut from my graveyard which allows me to special summon Noble Knight Eacher in attack mode" the two Noble Knights were removed from Alrik's graveyard and Alrik placed them in his pocket and then a darker knight with a flaming torch appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 1600 Defence 2000). "And then I summon Noble Knight Borz in attack mode" a muscular knight with a large chalice appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 900). "And then I equip him with Noble Arms Arfeudutyr, this is pretty much useless but it allows me to activate Borz's effect which increases his level by 1 to level 5 and turn him into a Dark Attribute monster." Borz became more powerful (Level 4-5). "You've already seen my Synchro summon, but now I'll show you my other summoning method"

Tomas gasped in horror when he realised what he was talking about.

"I overlay my two Level 5 Noble Knights in order to build the Overlay network." Alrik stated as the two Noble Knights formed who black balls which were sucked into a black portal "Sacred King of the order of Knights, come and lead your followers to victory, I XYZ summon Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus in attack mode" a knight wearing fancy armour and wielding two large swords appeared on the field (Rank 5 Attack 2200 Defence 2200) "And now I'll activate his ability which allows me to equip 3 Noble Arms cards in my graveyard to him, so I equip Defese, Caliburn and Gallatin to him which gives him an extra 1500 attack points" Three swords were added to the Sacred Knight's armour (SNKOKA Attack 2200-3700). "And I'll also play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon which destroys you Atlantian trident equip spell" the typhoon blew the trident from Heavy Infantry's hands and he lost some of his attack boast. (AHI Attack 1200-200).

Tomas gasped in horror as he knew what was coming. He had tried and he had failed to defeat Alrik but at least he went down fighting.

Alrik smirked "It's over Tomas, this duel and your life are gone!" he shouted "Now Sacred Knight, destroy his Heavy Infantry and the rest of his life points" Sacred Knight powered his sword and then he charged at the Heavy Infantry and slashed him, the defeated monster glowed before exploding and blowing Tomas back who screamed.

 **Alrik: 800 (Winner)  
Tomas: 0000**

Tomas flew onto his back and the Alrik walked up to him "I'm sure you know what is about to happen now." He stated "Since I defeated you, I get to take you as a prize just like all the others I defeated."

Tomas glared at him "I may have been defeated but we haven't lost yet" he hissed "The Warrior Faction will never dominate this world, there will be those who resist you and Redcliffe will stand strong."

Alrik laughed "My comrades will have already taken care of your friends" he stated "And you will join those who I have defeated before" he held his duel disk and then there was a bright glow and when it faded, Tomas was gone and a small crystal flew into Alrik's hands. Alrik could see a small version of Tomas in the crystal. Alrik laughed and place the crystal in a pouch along with the other ones he had.

Alrik quickly returned to the rest of the army and soon, he was joined by Cullen, Rylock and Karras "So, how did you three do?" he asked

"We did well" Karras stated and handed Alrik 3 more crystals with Tomas' friends sealed inside "Redcliffe won't get that warning"

"Plus we learnt something that will help us" Cullen added "There is a secret exit out of the castle. Near an old windmill is a secret passage that allows people to get out of the castle. However it requires a special key that only Teagan has."

Alrik smirked "Then all we need to do is block that exit and they're have no way out" he stated "Now let's carry on and I hope we don't have any more interruptions."

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: I'm sorry for the long wait but I had a lot of University work to do plus I was also working on my new story. The next chapter will take a while again plus I still have some University work to do plus I've also decided to get started on my next chapter of Rise of the Divines which I haven't done since December so the next chapter will take a while but I hope to get it done. This chapter I decided to do from the Warrior Factions point of view so Alrik is actually a bad guy in this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	20. The Battle of Redcliffe

**The Battle of Redcliffe:**

Solona Amell stood on the walls that surrounded the town of Redcliffe. She was overlooking the surrounding area. She had been in Redcliffe for some time and had been able to help the people here be better duellists so that they were ready when the Warrior Faction decided to attack. She was a bit worried about her friends. She was more worried about what they were thinking, she was trapped in a whole new world and they had no idea where she was. There was also still the threat of the Venatori who could still be looking for her. She really wanted to find a way back home but she had no idea on how to do that. Eventually she heard someone approach her.

"Teagan told me that you were up here" the voice of Evangeline stated as the former Warrior Faction member approached her "How are you doing"

"Oh, I thought I would just look at the view" Solona stated and then she sighed "I'm also worried about my friends. We've been separated for some time and I have no idea if they even know I'm okay."

Evangeline looked at her "You said that your friends are strong duellists" she stated "I'm sure that they're all okay."

"I sure hope that they are" Solona replied and then she noticed the worried look on Evangeline's face "Is everything alright?" she asked "You seem a bit worried."

"I am worried about something" Evangeline replied "I have a feeling that we may be getting visitors soon. We've lost contact with several villages around this area and Tomas didn't return from his patrol last night. I have a bad feeling that the Warrior Faction is on the move, I told Teagan and he has ordered Perth and Murdock to prepare for a fight. Murdock was the man in charge of the defence of the town people while Perth was one of the best duellists in Redcliffe.

"You're worried that he may have encountered a force of Warrior Faction members?" Solona questioned

"I am" Evangeline stated "The Warrior Faction really wants this place and we're all worried about a full head on attack. Sure Redcliffe has managed to defeat these attackers before but they were small in numbers. If the whole Warrior Faction attacks then we're in trouble, we can't hold on forever and Teagan wants us all to be ready. If the attack comes then he wants all the Civilians out of the town so they don't become targets."

"How long can this fortress hold?" Solona asked

"That depends on the strength that attacks us." Evangeline stated "We have enough food supplies and we can catch fish in the lake. But a whole army could summon monsters using their Duelling energy and if they are strong enough, then they could storm through the gates and take out the non-duellists."

Solona carried on looking towards the nearby forest "If those Warriors come here then I will help you defend this place."

Evangeline smiled "Your dragons will be big help. If we had a way of making them come real then they could inflict serious damage to the Warrior Army."

"Is that possible?" Solona asked

Evangeline sighed and shook her head "The Warrior and Spellcaster Factions have special duel disks which turn their defeated opponents into small crystals but they also absorb duelling energy. That's what gives them the ability to make monsters real even when they're not duelling. That's how they fight these battles; they summon monsters to battle the enemy. Non-duellists are weakened but not killed and then turned into crystals and more energy."

"That's just horrible!" Solona gasped

"That's why this war has to end" Evangeline stated "We have to find a way to get both sides to stop fighting but right now, that's impossible."

"Why is it impossible?" Solona asked

"The leadership" Evangeline answered "Fiona, the leader of the Spellcasters wants to protect her people and has a distrust of Warriors but never wants world conquest like the Warriors claim she wants. The Warrior Leadership on the other hand want to destroy the Spellcaster Faction and rule this world. Taking out Commander Meredith isn't enough; there are more fanatics in the Warrior Faction such as Alrik, Karras and Rylock. They'll just take over and Thrask's rebels are not strong enough to take over the Faction. If the Warriors suffer a major defeat then they might start to crumble."

Solona carried on looking ahead but then she saw something in the forest. It looked like someone was in the forest so she looked at Evangeline "Hey, I see some people in the forest, do you think the Scouts are back?"

Evangeline looked at the nearby forest but her eyes widened and she gasped in horror "Oh no, that's not our scouts, that's the Warrior Faction army." Then several figures wearing armour came out of the forest and Evangeline looked shocked "Sound the alarm!" she called "Sound the alarms, they're here, the Warrior Faction is here!"

…

Far away from Redcliffe, several figures were walking along the old desert trail. Crowler, Zane and Sereda had come a distance since they left Wycome but they were all still in shock from Crowler's defeat by Servis. Crowler had never seen those duelling methods and they the thought of what could have happened had made them slower. The heat wasn't helping either and they often had to wait for some time in shade before they could travel again.

"We must find a new location to stay soon" Zane stated "We can't keep walking around in this desert forever."

"These trails connect this land to other lands but I don't know how far" Sereda stated "But we must be careful, we don't want to run into another member of the Venatori or someone else who might not be friendly."

"I agree" Crowler stated as he looked at them "I guess I should be lucky with my defeat. I spent nine years in duelling school and I was defeated. These new duelling ways such as XYZ make it harder for our decks as they have cards that we've never seen and even more powerful Fusion monsters."

"And if we lose a duel then Alexius said that we could be turned into crystals." Sereda stated "I know what it's like to have your soul trapped in something. Frenic sealed me inside some kind of magic ball after he took my key."

"And I remember being trapped inside a doll after Camula defeated me" Crowler added "The worst part was that I could still feel someone touching me."

"Camula kept me on a display shelf" Zane added "He kept me like I was some kind of treasure; I could see my surroundings but I could do anything."

"We just have to hope that we can all stay safe" Sereda stated "Now we should get moving, the longer we wait, the hotter it will become." The three of them then got up and carried on walking in hopes of finding another town.

...

The bells were heard all over Redcliffe. The people in the village were fleeing into the castle while the guards were arriving on the walls. The people were terrified and children were clinging to their mothers as they arrived into the safety of the castle.

On the walls, Solona along with Evangeline watched as a large army emerged from the forest. It looked like the entire Warrior Army had arrived and they all looked like they were ready for a fight. Teagan arrived on the walls and he sighed at the size of the army "Redcliffe has defeated armies before but not one this big."

Solona then saw two people getting nearer to the castle. One was a woman with blond hair and the other was a man with a bald head. Solona looked at Evangeline "Who are they?" she asked

Evangeline sighed "They are the leaders of the Warrior Faction." She told Solona "The woman is Commander Meredith, the leader of the Warrior Faction while the man is her second in Commander Otto Alrik. Both are cruel people and care nothing for anyone other than the Warrior Faction and they don't like those who fail."

The woman known as Meredith walked closer and began calling up "You know who I am?" she stated

Teagan nodded "I know who you are Meredith" he stated as he narrowed his eyes at her

"That's Commander Meredith to you!" Alrik spat

"Not to us she's not!" Teagan snapped "And I know what you want and my answer is clear. You are not having this place; I won't let you slaughter any more people."

Alrik held up several crystals that he had "I wonder if how your scouts will feel if they knew that they would be helping us take this place" he stated "Their power will be useful in helping is take this place."

"You are welcome to try!" Teagan spat "Even if you take this place, we will weaken you as much as we can."

Meredith sneered and rode back to her army with Alrik, "Warriors, prepare to fight!" she ordered and then every single Warrior activated their duel disk and place cards on them. The crystals they had started to glow as they began to fuel the Duel Disks. Then many Warrior and Beast Warrior type monsters began to appear.

Solona looked in worry at the collection of monsters appearing. It seemed that she was about to witness how war was fought in this world. Then Teagan place his hand on her shoulder "I need you and Evangeline to come with me" he stated "I have to tell you something." He then looked at one of the people "Perth, I need you to lead these people. I know I'm asking for the ultimate sacrifice but I need you to defend this place as long as you can. Give is time to evacuate."

Perth nodded "We will do what we can to hold this place as long as we can" he stated "It's been an honour to serve you."

"Good luck" Teagan stated and then he walked away with Solona and Evangeline. Perth and the others began to get ready to defend their home.

...

In the Warrior Ranks, Meredith looked around at the monsters that had been summoned, this was the biggest amount of monsters summoned at once and required a lot of power. She just hoped that the power they lost could be replaced for their attack on the Spellcaster Territory. Meredith looked at Rylock "You know you mission" she stated "Do what you have to do"

Rylock nodded "Yes Commander." She stated and she left

Meredith looked at Alrik "It's time, begin the attack."

Alrik turned to his men and the monsters that they had summoned "Alrik Men, attack." The Warrior's monsters all began charging towards the Wall of Redcliffe.

...

Inside Redcliffe castle, Teagan took Solona and Evangeline into the basement of the castle. "Where are we going?" Solona asked "Shouldn't we be out there fighting. I can help here."

Teagan turned around "Yes you can help" he stated "You can help by getting the people out of here." He then turned back around "Redcliffe is lost, we won't survive a full on attack by the Warriors but we will inflict as much damage as they can on them. If they're weakened enough then they won't have enough power to defeat the Spellcasters. But we must get the people out of here."

"What about you?" Evangeline asked "Shouldn't you be leading these people."

Teagan sighed "This is my home and I'm not abandoning it. I will do what I can to hold them off. But before you two lead them, I need to give you something." He looked at Evangeline "You know what I'm about to give you and you'll agree that it's for the best."

Solona looked at Evangeline "What it is?" she asked

Evangeline sighed "I said that Meredith stole the deck of the man who led the Warriors against the Fiend and Zombie factions. Well I stole the Dragon cards from that deck so that Meredith couldn't use them. Teagan sealed them here in Redcliffe."

"That's another reason why Meredith is attacking" Teagan stated "So she can get these cards but she'll only get one of them" he unlocked a room and then he unlocked a chest and pulled out three cards "You two will take two of them but I will keep the third. I'll be able to hold them off for longer."

"Teagan, these people need you!" Evangeline stated

"And I'll save them by allowing them time to escape" just then there was a rumble above "They've broken through the outer walls, it won't be long before Perth and Murdock are overrun. You have to get the people out now."

"Teagan" Evangeline stated "It's been an honour to serve with you."

Teagan smiled "I'm glad to have met you" he replied "Now we must get the people ready to go."

...

Outside, the soldiers of Redcliffe had fallen back towards the bridge towards Redcliffe castle. The outer walls had been breached and several had been turned into crystals. But Murdock and Perth had taken them.

"It seems we have a better chance to hold them off now" Perth stated

"How?" Murdock asked

"We use these" Perth stated holding the crystals "Our friends would be happier if their energy was used to save our people" he handed a crystal to all the remaining soldiers "Now summon what you can." Soon their side was filled with many different Water Attribute monsters which included Fish, Sea Serpent and Aqua type monsters.

Alrik and Meredith sneered at the Redcliffe soldier's attempt to defend themselves "Attack!" Meredith ordered and the Warrior's monsters began charging again towards the Water Factions monsters. Some of the stronger Water monsters managed to hold on and even fight back but even Perth knew that it was only a matter of time before they fell.

...

Inside the castle, Teagan had gathered all of the people into a room away from the Great Hall "Alright people" Teagan stated "We all feared that this day will come but I will not let them turn you into crystals. You all must flee this place and spread the word to the rest of the Bufferlands. The Warriors will not stop here, you must encourage the other minor factions to unite and stop the Warrior Faction. I know that you're all scared so Evangeline and Solona will be going with you. They are very strong duellists and will be able to protect you. I regret to inform you that I will not be travelling along with you. This is my home and I will stay here and guard your defence. I know that this is hard but you must be strong." The people cheered and chanted Teagan's name.

Evangeline looked at Teagan "That was a good speech" she said

"Thank you" Evangeline stated "Now get going, I'll open the Secret passage but I will be sealing it behind you."

Solona nodded and then Teagan pressed his ring into a small slot and then the fireplace opened. The people then started getting in with Solona going first and Evangeline went last. As soon as Evangeline entered Teagan called "Good luck" then he pressed his ring into the slot again and the passage closed leaving the people of Redcliffe alone.

With his people safe, Teagan walked back towards the Great Hall and he could hear the banging against the door which meant only one thing. Perth, Murdock and the others had fallen. He lowered his head in respect for his followers and then he rose up and prepared his duel disk. Then the doors were forced opened and the Warriors were now in the castle. They were led by the Warrior known as Karras.

Karras sneered "Well look what we have here?" he stated "It's the leader of Redcliffe himself. Have you come to beg for mercy?"

Teagan narrowed his eyes "Never!" he hissed "I will fall like a fighter defending this place until my defeat."

Karras laughed "Then you fall in vain!" he sneered "Just like all the others who we just defeated" he threw a bag of crystals onto the floor and Teagan could see Perth sealed in one of them.

But then just as Karras prepared his duel disk, a voice called "Stop, he's mine!" everyone was silent as Commander Meredith walked in "So the leader of the Warrior Faction verses the leader of the Water Faction, this will be good."

"I know what you want Meredith and if you want it, you'll have to duel me for it" Teagan hissed

Meredith activated her duel disk "It's been a while but it feels good to have a challenge again. But soon my deck will be the most powerful in this world!" she smirked

"Not as powerful as some decks I know" Teagan snarled "And you'll never be the best. Now let's do this!"

" **DUEL!"**

 **Teagan: 8000  
Meredith: 8000**

"Since I am the Commander, I'll take the first move" Meredith stated as she drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Samurai of the Ice Barrier in attack mode" a samurai warrior wearing armour made from ice appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1500) "And then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

Teagan narrowed his eyes "I can't believe that you're using the deck of the Warrior Factions Greatest Hero in order to perform your selfish deeds. Brandis would be ashamed."

"He would be proud that I'm purging the spellcaster corruption from this world" Meredith snarled

"Not everyone believes that! My draw." Teagan spat and then he drew his card "And I have better monsters now that I've changed my deck a bit so that I was ready to face you but I still have some of my old tricks. First I play Hand Destruction so now we both must discard two cards and draw two more" Teagan and Meredith discarded and drew two new cards "And I activate the effect of one of the card's I discarded, since Mermail Abyssgunde was discarded, I can summon the a Mermail in my grave so the other card I discarded Mermail Abyssdine" a small mermaid with pink hair and a blue tail appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 200) "And since she was special summoned, I can special summon Abyssgunde from my grave." A mermaid with black hair and an orange tail appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1400 Defence 800). "And I still have my normal summon so I summon Double Shark in attack mode" a blue shark with a metal bar in his mouth appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1600). "And now for one last summon, I overlay my two Mermails in order to build the overlay network. With two level three monsters, I XYZ summon Shark Caesar in attack mode." A large blue Shark with a yellow face appeared on the field (Rank 3 Attack 1800 Defence 2000). "And I will play my Caesar's ability, by sacrificing one overlay unit, I can add a Shark Counter to him" one of the balls of light was sucked into the Shark's mouth (SC SC: 1). "Now during the damage step, he gains 1000 attack points so he can now destroy your Samurai." Shark Caesar charged and struck the Samurai and destroyed him.

 **Teagan: 8000  
Meredith: 7000**

"And now my Double Shark will attack you directly and thanks to his ability, he can attack twice" Teagan added and the Blue shark charged towards Meredith.

"I activate my trap" Meredith countered "Call of the Haunted so now my I can summon a monster in my graveyard and thanks to your Hand Destruction earlier, I can summon General Gantala of the Ice Barrier in attack mode" a bald headed warrior with a glowing blue tattoo on his forehead appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 2000).

Teagan groaned "Then I guess I have no other choice but to end my turn" he stated.

"My turn" Meredith snarled "And I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two more cards" Meredith drew two extra cards. "And since I control a face up Ice Barrier monster, I can special summon Prior of the Ice Barrier in attack mode" a black bearded man wearing white and blue robes appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 1000 Defence 400). "But he won be on the field for long because now I sacrifice him in order to summon Royal Knight of the Ice Barrier in attack mode" a warrior wearing armour made from ice and carrying an ice made lance appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 2000). "And since he was tribute summoned, you get an Ice Coffin token on your field" a small blue gem inside a crown appeared on Teagan's field (Level 1 Attack 1000 Defence 0). "It's pretty much useless since it cannot be used for a tribute summon but it's still a good target so my Knight will destroy it." The Knight charged and pierced the token with his Lance.

 **Teagan: 7000  
Meredith: 7000**

"And I may not be able to destroy that Caesar but that other Shark is still a good target" Meredith added "General Gantala, attack that double shark." The General sent a large ice shard which shattered after hitting the Shark.

 **Teagan: 5500  
Meredith: 7000**

"And now I will end my turn" Meredith finished "Which means that I can activate Gantala's special ability which allows me to special summon an Ice Barrier Monster in my grave so Samurai returns to the field." The Samurai Ice Barrier monster returned to Meredith's field.

"My move" Teagan stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by summoning Hammer Shark in attack mode." A large shark with the head in the shape of a hammer appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1500). "And now I activate his ability, now I can reduce my monsters level by 1 and summon another level 3 or lower water monster from my hand so now I summon Fishbog Archer in attack mode" a robotic monster made from fish tanks appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 300 Defence 300).

"So you're doing to XYZ summon again?" Meredith questioned

Teagan smirked and shook his head "XYZ summoning is not the only summoning method I know. Fishbog archer is a tuner monster so now I tune him with Hammer Shark which allows me to Synchro summon White Aura Dolphin in attack mode." Fishbog turned into three glowing rings which went around Hammer Shark and turned into three lights which created a glowing beam of light and formed a large white dolphin (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1000). "Now once per turn, my dolphin's ability activates which allows me to half the original attack points of one of your monsters so now your General Gantala loses half of his power." A tidal wave washed over Gantala which made him lose some of his power (GGOTIB Attack: 2700-1350). "And my Shark Caesar still has his ability to absorb his other overlay unit" Teagan added and the second overlay unit was absorbed by the Shark (SC SC: 2). "Now Shark Caesar, attack that General." The Shark shot towards the General and shot right through him and destroyed him.

 **Teagan: 5500  
Meredith: 4550**

"And my Dolphin will now destroy that Samurai again." Teagan added and then the Dolphin spat some water which froze the Samurai and destroyed him.

 **Teagan: 5500  
Meredith: 3950**

"And that will do it for this turn." Teagan finished

Meredith narrowed her eyes as she drew her card and smiled "You've seen my type of Synchro summoning, let me show you mine. First I play the spell card Magical Triangle of the Ice Barrier, now I reveal 3 different Ice Barrier monsters in my hand, this then allows me to destroy that Shark Caesar and then summon one of them." Meredith revealed the Pilgrim, Cryomancer and Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier. Then Shark Caesar started to freeze and was frozen into a block of ice and then shattered "Now I can summon Cryomancer to the field." A small dark skinned man with ice in his hands and holding an icy sword appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 1300 Defence 0) "And now I normal summon Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier." A blond haired man kneeling in a prayer appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1000) "And now I can Synchro summon as well since Cryomancer is a Tuner monster so I tune Cryomancer with my Pilgrim." Cryomancer turned into two circles of light which went around Pilgrim and turned him into a beam of light. "Icy Beast of the frozen fields, awaken and guard your loyal subjects. I Synchro summon Dewloren Tiger King of the Ice Barrier." A large icy tiger appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 1400). "And now I cast the field spell Umi" the field changed into a large ocean.

But this confused Teagan "But that helps both our fields." He stated "Both our decks are water attribute."

Meredith smirked "I did not activate it for its effects" she smirked "I did it for my Tiger King. You see, once per turn, I can send any number of face up cards on my field back to my hand, this allows my Tiger King to gain 500 attack points until the end phase. So now Umi returns to the field and my Tiger King gains 500 attack points." The field returned to normal and Tiger King started glowing as he gained power (DTKOTIB Attack 2000-2500). "A now my Tiger King has enough power to destroy your Dolphin so attack" Tiger King pounced on the Dolphin and destroyed him.

 **Teagan: 5400  
Meredith: 3950**

"And now my Samurai will attack you directly so go" Meredith added and Teagan groaned as Samurai slashed him causing him to fall to his knees.

 **Teagan: 3600  
Meredith: 3950**

"And now I will end my turn" Meredith finished "Make your move."

Teagan drew his next card "It looks like this card won't be the one to help me." He stated and Meredith looked at him "It will be what I draw with it; I play Card of Sanctity so now we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands." Meredith and Teagan drew until they held 6 cards in their hands "And now I will discard my Spear Shark which allows me to activate Fishbog Archer's effect in my grave, now he returns to the field" the Fishbog returned to the field. "And now I summon Friller Rabca in attack mode" a large eel like monster appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 700 Defence 1500) "And now it's time to Synchro summon again and I think you're going to like the monster. I tune my level 3 Fishbog with my level 3 Rabca." Fishbog once again turned into magical circles that went around Rabca and created a beam of light. "With the power of water turned to ice, I awaken an ancient serpent that has been hiding for years. I Synchro summon Brionac Dragon of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A large slight blue dragon that looked like a sea serpent as it had no legs appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2300 Defence 1400).

"That's one of the Dragons that Evangeline stole!" Meredith snarled "They belong in my deck!"

"You are not worthy of them!" Teagan snapped "I activate Brionac's effect, now by discarding two cards in my hand, I can sent both your monsters back to your hand or your Tiger King back to your Extra deck." Samurai and Tiger King vanished from the field "And now that your field is empty, my dragon will attack you directly so attack." Brionac fired a breath of water from his mouth which struck Meredith and threw her back.

 **Teagan: 3600  
Meredith: 1650**

"And now I will end my turn" Teagan finished

Meredith narrowed her eyes "I will defeat you Teagan!" she hissed "And then I will claim those Dragon cards from you." She then drew her card "And while I like that dragon since it should be in my deck, I'm afraid it will be going because I play the spell card Storm of the Ice Barrier, now by discarding a monster from my hand, I can destroy every monster on your field with less attack points than the monster I discarded and so I discard General Grunard of the Ice Barrier with 2800 attack points so that Dragon is destroyed." The spirit of a warrior dressed in armour made from ice appeared and then slashed the dragon and destroyed him leaving Teagan's field empty.

"Well at least I still have plenty of life points" Teagan said to himself.

Meredith sneered "Well that won't be the case with Double summon as now I can summon two monsters this turn, so my Samurai returns to the field and I also summon a second Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier." The Samurai returned along with another Pilgrim. "And while these might not end the duel, it will be a different story after I activate Castle of the Ice Barrier field spell" the field changed into large white castle "Now all my Ice Barrier monsters gain 300 attack points."

Teagan widened his eyes in horror "Oh no!" he gasped

Meredith sneered "That's right!" she stated "It over!" Samurai and Dance Princess glowed blue as they gained power (SOTIB Attack 1800-2100) (POTIB Attack 1500-1800). "Now Pilgrim, attack him directly" The Pilgrim ran towards Teagan and punched him in the face which knocked him back.

 **Teagan: 1800  
Meredith: 1650**

"And now Samurai, end this duel" Meredith ordered and then Samurai slashed Teagan with his sword which caused Teagan to fall onto his back.

 **Teagan: 0000  
Meredith: 1650 (Winner)**

Meredith smirked "I win, the Water Faction is finished and those Ice Barrier Dragons are mine" she walked over and picked up Teagan's Duel Disk and pulled his deck out. She then went through the deck and pulled out Brionac but she couldn't find the other two Ice Barrier Dragons. "What, it's just Brionac!" she glared at Teagan "Where are the other two cards?"

Teagan laughed "I already gave them away, you'll never find them"

Meredith smirked "Oh I think I will. I know about that secret exit of yours. Your people have most likely been caught in my trap." Teagan had a look of shock on his face and then Meredith held her Duel disk above him and activated it. A beam of light shot out from the Duel Disk and hit Teagan. Teagan glowed and then vanished and a crystal came out from the disk with Teagan trapped inside.

With the duel over, Karras walked over to Meredith "What should we do now Commander?" he asked

Meredith looked at him "Tell the rest of the men to secure the castle and find anyone else who is hiding. Then go and find Rylock and tell her to bring all of the Duel Disks to me so that I can retrieve the other Ice Barrier Dragons."

"At once Commander" Karras stated as then he left leaving Meredith alone as she started at the Ice Barrier Dragon card.

...

Meanwhile while Teagan was duelling Meredith, Solona and Evangeline were leading the remaining people of Redcliffe through the old tunnels. These tunnels would help them escape from Redcliffe towards an old windmill that had collapsed during a previous attack by the Warrior Faction. Then they could make their way to the Spellcaster territory, with the fall of Redcliffe, there was no place that was safe in the Bufferlands.

"I hate it that Teagan sacrificed himself" Evangeline stated "He meant a lot to these people."

"Teagan made his choice" Solona stated "We shall honour it. The Warriors may have won this battle but the war is still not over. We can fight back but we may have to gather the other minor factions to stop the advance of the Warrior Faction."

"Maybe we can convince the Spellcaster Leaders to help" Evangeline stated "But they will be very suspicious of us since I am from the Warrior Faction."

"We'll just have to hope that the news of Redcliffe's fall managed to convince them" Solona suggested and they all carried on through the tunnel.

Evangeline then saw light and saw the hatch that would open to the tunnel's exit "Looks like we've made it." She then opened the hatch a little and looked through but then she quickly closed it.

"What's wrong?" Solona asked

"The Warrior Faction knows of this tunnel!" Evangeline hissed "Rylock's there waiting. Our captured scouts must have told them about this. What do we do know, I can duel her but it would take a while and more Warriors could show up."

"Rylock is alone?" Solona asked and Evangeline nodded "I'll take care of this; I can defeat her quickly with my dragons."

"Do it but please do it before more show up." Evangeline stated

"I will" Solona stated and then she went up through the hatch.

...

Rylock stood outside as she waited for the refugees to exit. As soon as they left, she would summon her monsters to prevent them from escaping and then they would become crystals to power their monsters. She smirked at performing her mission for Commander Meredith. Then she stood ready when the trap door opened. They she watched as one person got out. This person had long raven black hair but Rylock knew her as she had been sent to capture her before "I remember you" she stated "You were the girl that appeared in Kirkwall and I was sent to capture but failed."

The girl smirked "My name is Solona Amell" she stated "And I won't let you do what you are planning to these people. They're just innocent but you want to use them as fuel."

"It's for the good of this world" Rylock smirked

Solona narrowed her eyes "No, it's just for power and it seems that I must defeat you in a duel to protect them." She activated her Duel Disk.

Rylock smirked "This makes thing better, by capturing you alive, the Commander will have better knowledge on Dragons."

"Well then you should know that Dragons are not easy to beat" Solona smirked "Let me show you what they can do."

"Bring it on" Rylock sneered as she activated her Duel Disk.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Solona: 8000  
Rylock: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Rylock stated "And first of all, I play the spell card Double Summon, this allows me normal summon twice this turn. So I summon X Saber Airbellum in attack mode" A large armoured lion with large claws on his hands appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1600 Defence 200). "And I will also summon X-Saber Uruz in attack mode" a small red Beast Warrior wearing a black cloak and wielding two daggers appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1000). And now I tune Level 3 Airbellum with Level 4 Uruz." Airbellum turned into 3 circles with engulfed Uruz and created a beam of light "I Synchro summon X Saber Souza in attack mode." A large muscular warrior wearing a red cape and wielding 2 sabre swords appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 1600) "And finally, I play Monster Reborn which allows me to bring Airbellum back to my field." Airbellum returned to the field "Now I will end my turn."

Solona looked at her hand and smiled as she had what she needed to end this duel now "My draw" she stated "And first of all, I play the spell card Dragon's Shrine, this card allows me to send a Dragon card in my deck to the grave so I send one of my Blue Eyes White Dragons and since Blue Eyes is a normal monster, I can send another to the grave." Two Blue Eyes White Dragons were sent from Solona's deck to the graveyard. "And now I summon Kaibaman in attack mode" a small monster wearing a white hoodie that looked like a dragon appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 700). "And now I activate his effect, now by sacrificing him, I can summon my Third Blue Eyes White Dragon in my hand" Kaibaman was engulfed in light and then a massive white scaled dragon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500). "And now I play another spell card, Dragon's Mirror, this allows me to fuse the Blue Eyes on my field with the two in my graveyard." The spirits of the other Blue Eyes appeared and the three dragons were sucked into a portal "With the power of three mighty dragons, I will created a three headed dragon with extraordinary power. I fusion summon Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." A large three headed like blue dragon with crystal like scaled appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 4500 Defence 3800). "And now my dragon will attack that Airbellum." The three heads fired a blast which combined into one and quickly engulfed Airbellum and blew Rylock back.

 **Solona: 8000  
Rylock: 5100**

"And now that your Airbellum is gone, you are no longer able to protect your Souza" Solona stated

Rylock smirked "But your dragon has already attacked so it won't be able to attack again this turn."

Solona smirked "That's where you are wrong, you see since my Ultimate is the only monster I control, at the end of the damage step, I can send a Blue Eyes Fusion monster from my extra deck to the grave which allows my Ultimate to attack again, so by sending Twin Burst, Ultimate can attack again." The heads fired again and blasted Souza which blew Rylock back again.

 **Solona: 8000  
Rylock: 3100**

"And guess what, I can use my dragon's ability again to send the normal Ultimate to the grave and attack once again" Solona smirked

"No!" Rylock shouted "This can't be, I can't lose like this!"

"Well you just did" Solona smirked "Neo Blue Eyes end this" Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate fired a blast which blew Rylock back and knocked her out when she hit the ground.

 **Solona: 8000 (Winner)  
Rylock: 0000**

Solona deactivated her Duel Disk and then opened the hidden door "its okay, I've defeated her."

Evangeline exited first "Is there anyone else nearby?" she asked

Solona shook her head "Not right now but there will be soon. We should get going now while we still can." Evangeline nodded in agreement and she began helping the people out of the tunnel and they all began making their way away from the castle.

When everyone was out, Solona and Evangeline followed them over the hills as they made their way away from the castle. Evangeline stopped and gave one last look as the smoking ruins of Redcliffe and then she carried on.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: I'm sorry with how long this chapter took but I have been really busy and I have my exams in a few weeks so I've been studying a lot. The next chapter probably will be a long wait since I have to concentrate on my exams.**


	21. Ville Maurel:

**Ville Maurel:**

The Warrior Faction was celebrating. They had won a great victory and had finally been able to capture the Fortress of Redcliffe and turn leader Teagan into a crystal. With the fall of Redcliffe, that was the end of the most powerful faction in the Bufferlands and now the path towards the Spellcaster territory was open. Warrior Faction banners had been placed around the castle and Alrik was assigned some of the Warriors to remain and hold the fortress. With the capture of Redcliffe, now the Warriors had a path that would lead them straight to the Spellcaster Territory and when they won a victory at the fortress of Andoral's Reach, then they would be in Spellcaster Territory. After the war had been going on for a while as a stalemate, now it looks like the Warriors had the upper hand.

Despite the victory, Commander Meredith was fuming. They had not captured as many people as she wanted. Very few people had been turned into energy crystals and the other two Ice Barrier Dragons had been taken from her. Sure she had turned Teagan into a crystal and taken one of the Ice Barrier Dragons but there were still two left. Now Meredith was blaming the person who failed her.

Two Warrior Faction soldiers dragged the person who Meredith blamed for letting the people escape Redcliffe. The Warrior known as Rylock "Do you know what you've done?" Meredith snapped "Your failure has allowed the Water Faction to escape here with the last two cards I need. You've failed us for the last time Rylock. Because of you, our plans are now at risk!"

Rylock looked very worried now. Her eyes were filled with fear as she could see just how cross Meredith was "Commander, please forgive me, I tried my best. But those dragons were too strong for me. None of us have faced a duellist like that."

"Even so, we are the Warriors" Alrik sneered "Nothing stands in our way."

Meredith smirked "And since you have failed us multiply times, it means you must be punished this time." She held her duel disk high over Rylock which started to glow.

Rylock widened her eyes as she realised what Meredith was about to do "Commander, please no!" she begged "I've served you loyally for years, I would never betray you. Give me another chance, I can help you get those dragons back."

Meredith stared at Rylock for a few seconds in silence until she broke it "Failure means punishment" she stated "No exceptions" the light then engulfed Rylock who then vanished and a crystal fell from the duel disk and into Meredith's hand. Meredith turned around and showed the rest of the Warrior Faction the crystal "This is the result of what happens when you fail me multiply times" she stated "I expect that you all improve for our upcoming attack on the Spellcasters. You deserve a rest for now but remember my warning because I will not to tolerate any failure when we are so close to victory in this war. Am I understood?"

The Warriors all answered yes in fear before Meredith turned around and walked away. When she was gone, Karras and Alrik looked at each other "Well Rylock wasn't that great anyway" Karras stated

"She was weak" Alrik agreed "She didn't deserve the position she had and her loses prove that. But we're strong and soon we will have total control over this world with the Warriors on top."

Karras smirked but looked worried "I agree with our plan but I will admit that I'm worried about this Dragon Duellist. The Dragons are a strong type of monster and are very rare and this duellist who had beaten two of our best warriors in just one turn is a major threat."

"Doesn't matter" Alrik sneered "She will fall just like every duellist falls. Every duellist has a weakness that we can exploit and we just need to find that weakness." Alrik then left leaving Karras alone.

...

Away from Redcliffe, Solona and Evangeline had taken the survivors from Redcliffe alone the hills. They had managed to save most of the civilian population from being turned into crystals but the entire militia of Redcliffe was gone and the only duellists left were Evangeline and Solona. There were a few beginners in the group but they stood no chance against a warrior. It was getting dark but with Redcliffe still being close, they couldn't stop for the night as the Warriors could pick up their trail and attack in the middle of the night. They didn't take the road as the Warriors could easily catch up with them so they would have to travel across the hills to find a place.

Evangeline walked alongside Solona as they led the survivors away "You really helped save many of these people" Evangeline stated "If it wasn't for you then many of them would have been left behind in Redcliffe and turned into crystals."

Solona looked at Evangeline "Your people have lost everything" she stated "How are you going to rebuild from this?"

Evangeline smiled "As long as there's hope, we will rebuild. Everyone has hope that one day the Warrior Faction will stop their rampage and I believe that day is close."

"The Warriors are now one step closer to taking over this world" Solona stated "That makes them look closer to winning."

"But many of them are arrogant and over confident which makes them likely to make a mistake" Evangeline smirked "We can use that against them in the next battle and unlike Redcliffe, the attack won't come as a surprise."

Solona looked at Evangeline "And just where are we going?" she asked

"The only place where we can go now" Evangeline stated "We are going to the Spellcasters themselves at the fortress of Andoral's Reach where we can warn the Spellcasters and get these people to safety."

Solona looked a bit worried "And how do we know that they'll help us?" she questioned

Evangeline sighed "We don't but we don't have any other choice, besides that fortress will be the Warrior Faction's next target so we need to get there before they do." She looked at the people "And if we keep up at the pace we're going, we'll be there by tomorrow. The quicker we get there, the quicker we can rest. I know that everyone's tired but if we rest then there's the risk that the Warrior Faction will reach the Spellcasters first or they catch up to us."

Evangeline and Solona carried on leading the survivors away but going slowly so that they wouldn't tire out.

...

At the Venatori headquarters, General Samson walked into the room where the Elder One was along with Livius and Gordian "Master, I have some bad news to report?" he stated with worry since the Elder One hated bad news.

The Elder One glared at Samson, no one could see his face under his dark hood but his red eyes glowed with anger "And what is this news?" he demanded

Samson sighed "Denam has reported that the Warrior faction has taken Redcliffe but we don't have the girl. She escaped during the attacked. Denam knows because she beat one of the Warriors leading members known as Rylock."

The Elder One let out a loud growl before throwing a chair aside causing it to smash to pieces "I am beginning to run out of patience!" he hissed "I must get my hand on the girl and the cards!"

Livius got up from his chair "Master, every time we try and capture the girl, something happens which allows her to escape. So maybe we should think of something else."

The Elder One glared at him "Like what?" he demanded

Livius smirked "Instead of going to capture the girl, we should make her come to us." He stated

...

In the Brecilian Forest, Jaden along with Theorn, Chazz and Fairbanks were close to the place where the Freemen were using as their headquarters. Alexis and Aristide had remained behind at the camp to help look after the camp. Fairbanks had come with them as he wanted to be part of this because there was someone he was after that had caused his people a lot of problems. The headquarters was an old manor house known as Ville Maurel, a former estate used by nobles before it was abandoned many years ago. Now the forest had claimed the house as the garden was overgrown with weeds and there building had vines all over the walls.

"This is the Freeman headquarters" Theorn stated "General Maliphant is inside and he has several guards on the outside."

"That bastard Duhaime is here too" Fairbanks snarled as he saw a giant of a man standing guard "He's caused my group so many problems, he doesn't care for anyone other than himself. I'll take him out, you can take care of the other guards but Duhaime is mine."

"How many guards are there?" Chazz asked

Fairbanks looked at the place "I can see three including Duhaime. I'm not sure how many are inside though but it seems that most of the guards have been pulled away with Ser Auguste. We can sort him out later but right now, we need to capture this place so my people will have a safe place to stay before you leave to find your missing friends."

Theorn added something else "We should separate the guards, that way they won't gang up on us."

"Good idea" Chazz stated and he watched as Duhaime sent one Guard to a storehouse "I'll go take care of that one while he's at the storehouse."

"Good luck Chazz" Jaden stated as Chazz got up and left. Jaden then looked around, he hadn't duelled in some time and he wanted to get involved. He then saw the other guard go around the other side of the manor "I'll go after that one while he's over at the other side of the manor"

"I guess that leaves Fairbanks and me to take care Duhaime" Theorn stated "Good luck Jaden."

"I always have luck on my side" Jaden stated as he left.

Fairbanks watched as Jaden left "I see he's full of energy" he stated

"Jaden always loves duelling" Theorn stated "He's skilled but can get reckless at times. Anyway, we should go after Duhaime now that he's alone."

"Agreed" Fairbanks stated and he and Theorn prepared to confront the man who had caused so many problems for Fairbank's people.

...

The Freeman Guard who had been sent to collect supplies was in a storehouse to collect supplies for the road. This guard had his orders and he was worried, when they started they believed deeply in their cause but now, they had begun to collapse and now a new group was plotting to take control of their quest. Well soon Maliphant would deal with them and work alone like they did before. But then the Guard felt someone behind him and turned to see a short boy with spiky black hair and a smirk on his face.

"Hello" Chazz smirked "I hope you're ready to take on the Chazz." He activated his Duel Disk and took a fighting position.

...

The other guard was over in another area collecting something else. In order for the Freemen along with the Venatori to power their Duel Disks to crystallize people, they needed a lot of power and in many old ruins were powerful magical crystals used by the Ancient Dragon Empire. The Freemen had found one in a ruin from the forest and Fairbanks was planning to use it to break away from the Venatori. The guard had been sent to collect it and prepare it for moving out to the new camp. But just after he loaded the crystal onto the cart, he turned around and saw a brown haired teenager nearby.

"Who are you?" he demanded as he activated his Duel Disk.

"The name's Jaden Yuki" the boy said "And it's time to get your game on" he activated his own Duel disk.

...

Theorn and Fairbanks saw Duhaime standing nearby and were ready to confront him. But Duhaime quickly turned around with his Duel Disk already activated "So, the leader of the vermin had finally grown enough courage to dare attack us in our headquarters!" he sneered

Fairbanks narrowed his eyes "Maybe to you!" he hissed "But the things you have done are unforgivable. And now it is time that you Freemen pay for what you have done to not just my people but the others who live in the forest."

Duhaime laughed "This forest belongs to us now" he stated "We may have decided to cut our ties to this Venatori that supported us before but now we're going our own way."

"The Venatori?" Theorn gasped "The ones who kidnapped Solona?" he glared at Duhaime "How well do you know these Venatori?"

Duhaime laughed "Not very well" he admitted "Only Maliphant knew them personally but I did hear one of them mention this girl called Solona who had been spotted in the Warrior Capital of Kirkwall before escaping. But none of us have any idea where she is now. Why do you ask, she you girlfriend?"

Theorn glared at Duhaime but Fairbanks stepped in front "Enough of this!" he hissed "We came here to take you out while we had the chance but to get inside, it seems that we'll have to deal with you and for the crimes you've committed against my people, this fight is personal to me so I'll take you on" Fairbanks activated his duel disk.

Duhaime laughed "That's fine by me" he stated "I'll defeat you like the vermin you are. And once you're gone, we'll take out you camp and turn everyone there into crystals."

"You'll have to defeat me first!" Fairbanks hissed

Duhaime sneered "I'll defeat you easily, I'm very strong and better than a wimp like you." He activated his own Duel Disk.

"We'll see about that" Fairbanks countered

" **DUEL!"**

 **Fairbanks: 8000  
Duhaime: 8000**

"Since this is my turf, I'll take the first move" Duhaime sneered as he drew his card "And I'll start by activating the spell card Fires of Doomsday which allows me to special summon two Doomsday tokens in defence mode" two small black spirits with a green eye appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 0 Defence 0) "And since I played this spell, I can't summon anymore but I can set so I'll throw one monster facedown and one card facedown and then I'll end my turn."

"My turn" Fairbanks drew his sixth card "And I'll play the spell card Double Summon which allows me to summon twice this turn so I'll summon Wattcobra and Wattgiraffe to the field." A red and blue snake along with a Giraffe that were both covered in lightning appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 500) (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 100) "Now I could take out your facedown monster or your tokens but I have a better idea, both my monsters can attack you directly so go, first Cobra will attack" the cobra jumped forward and bit Duhaime on his arm making him groan.

 **Fairbanks: 8000  
Duhaime: 7000**

"And now Giraffe will attack" Fairbanks added and the Giraffe charged and knocked Duhaime aside with his charge.

 **Fairbanks: 8000  
Duhaime: 5800**

"It's not over yet" Fairbanks smirked "Now their abilities activate, since Giraffe attacked, you cannot activate spell or trap effects until the end of this turn so that facedown is useless. And Cobra allows me to add a Watt monster to my hand so I'll add my Wattfox to my hand. Then I'll throw one card facedown and end my turn."

Duhaime narrowed his eyes "You may have taken out some of my life points but you still won't win!" he snapped as he drew his next card "And first of all, I'll flip my facedown monster, Stygian Street Patrol" a horned demon riding a bike in the shape of a monster with headlights that glowed red like eyes appeared on the field (Level 1600 Defence 1200) "And then I'll sacrifice my two Doomsday tokens and they can only be tribute for a Dark monster but that's okay because now I summon Diabolos, King of the Abyss in attack mode" a large dragon with a fiendish look appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2800 Defence 1000) "And now, my Street Patrol will attack that Cobra" the motorbike started and then sped into Cobra and struck the snake who groaned before shattering.

 **Fairbanks: 7400  
Duhaime: 5800**

"And there's more" Duhaime smirked "Since my Street Patrol has destroyed one of your monsters, his ability activates do now you take damage equal to your monster's level times by 100." The rider threw a black fireball which made Fairbanks groan.

 **Fairbanks: 7000  
Duhaime: 5800**

"And I still have my Diabolos ready so now he will destroy your Giraffe" Duhaime smirked and the dragon fired a blast of Black fire which engulfed the Giraffe and burnt him into a crisp.

 **Fairbanks: 5200  
Duhaime: 5800**

"And that will do it for my turn." Duhaime finished.

Fairbanks narrowed his eyes as he was about to draw his card but then Duhaime interrupted him "Hold up, my Diabolos' effect allows me to look at the card you're about to draw and then I can decide whether to place it back on the top of your deck or onto the bottom of your deck." Fairbanks showed him the top card on his deck "The spell card Wattcine, well that card would allow you to gain more lifepoints which I cannot allow so that will go to the bottom of your deck." Fairbanks placed the card on the bottom of his deck.

Theorn groaned "That means that Duhaime can predict Fairbanks moves if he lets him keep the card or remove his useful cards" he stated

Fairbanks drew his next card to start his turn "I'll start by activating my facedown card, Wattcannon, now once per turn when a level 4 or lower Thunder type monster is summoned, you take 600 points of damage. Next I summon Wattfox to the field." A small fox with lightning surrounding the body appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 800 Defence 100) "And since he's a level 2 thunder monster, you take 600 points of damage." The cannon fired a shot at Duhaime.

 **Fairbanks: 5200  
Duhaime: 5200**

"Next I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Giraffe" Fairbanks added and the Giraffe returned to the field "But since my Fox is a tuner monster, I tune my Wattfox with Wattgiraffe." The fox turned into two rings which surrounded the Giraffe and turned into a beam of light "I Synchro summon Wattchimera in attack mode." A large multicoloured Chimera appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 1400 Defence 1200) "And just like my Cobra and Giraffe, he can attack you directly." The Chimera charged and knocked Duhaime backwards causing him to groan in pain.

 **Fairbanks: 5200  
Duhaime: 3800**

"And now Chimera's effect activates" Fairbanks added "Since he dealt damage to you, I can send one card in your hand back to the top of your deck." Duhaime sent one card to the top of his deck "And I'll end my turn by placing one card facedown."

Duhaime growled as he drew his card which he had sent to the top of his deck before "I may not be able to do much but I can still cause damage to you!" he hissed "That Chimera may be a Synchro monster but it's still weaker than my monsters. Street Patrol, attack that Chimera." The motorbike began speeding towards the Chimera.

But Fairbanks wasn't worried, he was smirking "You've just fallen for my trap" he stated "The trap card Reinforcements, this gives my Chimera an extra 500 attack points until the end phase of this turn." Chimera howled as he gained power (WC Attack 1400-1900). Now because Chimera was stronger, he pounced on the motorbike and threw it back at Duhaime where it exploded.

 **Fairbanks: 5200  
Duhaime: 3500**

"Well I still have one more attack" Duhaime countered "Diabolos, destroy that Chimera" Diabolos blew a blast of black fire which engulfed and destroyed the Chimera.

 **Fairbanks: 4300  
Duhaime: 3500**

"And now I end my turn" Duhaime smirked.

Theorn watched in concern "Oh man" he said to himself "Fairbanks may have more life points but Duhaime's monsters are stronger than anything Fairbanks has. I just hope that Jaden and Chazz are doing better than Fairbanks in their duels.

...

Chazz was indeed doing much better with his duel against his Freeman soldier. Chazz currently had his XYZ Dragon Cannon along with the spell card Frontline Base in play while his opponent had Despair from the Dark.

 **Chazz: 600  
Freeman soldier: 2500**

"It's my turn soldier" Chazz hissed as he drew his card "And I summon V-Tiger jet in attack mode" a yellow and green fighter with a tiger's head appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 1800) "And now I special summon W-Wing Catapult thanks to Frontline base" a blue platform appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1300 Defence 1500) "And now I'll combine them to form VW Tiger catapult" Tiger's wings folded in and then attached itself to W-Wing Catapult to form one monster (Level 6 Attack 2000 Defence 2100). "But it gets even better because now I combine VW and XYZ in order to form the great VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon." The two monsters combined to form a large walking machine (Level Attack 3000 Defence 2800).

"Big deal!" the soldier stated "I'll still have life points from your attack."

Chazz smirked "That's where you're wrong" he stated "you see once per turn, I can banish one card on your field and I choose your Despair." The Freeman soldier gasped as his Despair vanished from the field. "And now, VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon, attack him directly and end this duel!" the main cannons fired and threw the Freeman soldier back who yelled in pain as he hit the ground.

 **Chazz: 600 (Winner)  
Freeman Soldier: 0000**

Chazz deactivated his duel disk and looked at the soldier "Well, I guess I better catch up with the others." He said and then he ran off.

...

Jaden was also doing well against his Freeman soldier. Jaden currently had Elemental Hero Sparkman on the field while his opponent had the zombie monster known as Lich Lord, King of the Underworld (Level 5 Attack 2400 Defence 1200).

 **Jaden: 900  
Freeman Soldier: 1200**

"Well it's my turn now" Jaden stated as he drew his card

"And you'll need it because next turn, my zombies will finish you off." The soldier smirked

Jaden looked at his card and smirked "Sorry, but there won't be a next turn" he stated "I play the spell card Graceful Charity which allows me to three cards as long as I discard two." Jaden drew three cards and discarded two from his one, one of which was Elemental Hero Necroshade. "Next I equip my Sparkman with the spell card Spark blaster, now three times, he can switch the position of one of you monsters so your Lich Lord will go witch to defence mode" the zombie was forced to kneel down. "And thanks to sending Necroshade to the grave, I can now summon Elemental Hero Bladedge in attack mode" the golden armoured warrior appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 1800).

"What was the point of switching my monster to defence mode?" the soldier questioned

Jaden smirked "Because when Bladedge attacks a monster in defence mode, the difference is dealt to you as damage" he stated which made the soldier gasp "Now Bladedge, attack with Slice and Dice attack." Bladedge swung his arms which had blades attached and slashed Lich Lord and destroyed him and threw the soldier backwards.

 **Jaden: 900 (Winner)  
Freeman Soldier: 0000**

"That's game" Jaden stated as the soldier collapsed

"Well done Jaden" Chazz called and Jaden jumped and turned around as he hadn't noticed Chazz was there.

"Hey Chazz." Jaden called "I see you've won your duel."

"I did" Chazz replied "Now we better go and see Fairbanks and Theorn" he stated and he and Jaden went over to the Ville's entrance where Fairbanks was.

...

Theorn stared at Fairbanks and Duhaime and he was worried. Sure Fairbanks had more life points but he was losing monsters fast. Theorn knew that Fairbanks had no monster that could beat Diabolos since all the Watt Monsters had low attack points.

Fairbanks narrowed his eyes as Duhaime began to mock him "Face it Fairbanks, no card in your deck can save you now." He stated "You should just give up now while you can."

Fairbanks shook his head "I never give up, no matter how much the odds are against me. I will carry on fighting while I still have life points."

"Don't forget, I get to see your next card before you draw it" Duhaime smirked and the next card was revealed to be Card of Sanctity which made him smirk "That card will help both of us so you can keep it at the top of your deck."

Fairbanks drew the card "Well it may help you as well but I need to fill my hand." He stated and both Fairbanks and Duhaime drew until they held 6 cards "And now I will activate the effect of a card in my hand, Thunder Dragon."

"Wait, Thunder Dragon?" Duhaime gasped

Fairbanks smirked "Did you really think that I only had Watts in my deck, I needed a few more powerful monsters." Fairbanks stated "And now by discarding him, I can add two more copies to my hand. But it gets better because now I can play the spell card Polymerisation which allows me to fuse both Thunder Dragons in my hand so that I can summon Twin Headed Thunder Dragon to the field. The two green dragons appeared in spirit form before being sucked into a portal and then a large red lizard with two heads appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2800 Defence 2100). "And I'll also equip him with spell card Thunder Whip which gives him an extra 300 attack points." A large whip was attached to the dragon's claws (THTD Attack 2800-3100). "And I'll also summon Wattpheasant in attack mode." A blue pheasant appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1000 Defence 800) "And since I just summoned a level 4 Thunder type monster, my cannon deals you another 600 points of damage." The cannon fired which made Duhaime growl in anger.

 **Fairbanks: 4300  
Duhaime: 2900**

"And now my Twin Headed Thunder Dragon will destroy your Diabolos" Fairbanks added and the Dragon fired a blast of lighting from each head which struck Diabolos and destroyed him.

 **Fairbanks: 4300  
Duhaime: 2600**

"And now my Pheasant will attack you directly" Fairbanks stated and the Pheasant swooped through Duhaime.

 **Fairbanks: 4300  
Duhaime: 1600**

"And I'll end my turn by throwing one card facedown." Fairbanks finished

Theorn smiled and then he heard a noise and turned to see Jaden and Chazz running towards him "Hey you two" he greeted "I see that you've completed your duels."

"We have" Jaden stated

"How's Fairbanks doing?" Chazz asked

"It was bad for him but he's turning this around now." Theorn stated "He still has half his life points and a good monster on his field."

Duhaime laughed which made everyone look at him "Sorry but I couldn't help but overhear your friends" he stated "True you may have destroyed my monster and summoned a good monster of your own but now I have a full hand" he drew his next card "Which means that I have all the cards I need to win this duel starting with the spell card Tribute to the Doomed."

"Tribute to the Doomed?" Chazz gasped

"Oh no, that's not good!" Jaden added

Duhaime sneered "No it's not. Now by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy your Twin Headed Thunder Dragon." Duhaime discarded a card and soon the ground opened and began to swallow Twin Headed Thunder Dragon.

But Fairbanks also had a plan "That would have worked if it wasn't for this" he stated "Diffusion so now my Dragon separates back into the Two Thunder Dragons which I summon in defence mode." The Red two headed dragon separated into 2 green scaled dragons covered in lightning (Level 5 Attack 1600 Defence 1500).

Duhaime growled in anger that his plan had failed "Well then I play my facedown which I have kept for a while now, the trap card Sinister Yorishiro, now once per turn, level 5 or higher fiend monsters can be normally summoned without tributing. This means that I can summon Mist Archfiend in attack mode without activating his ability." A fiend with a lower body made of mist appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2400 Defence 0). "And now I will play the spell card Monster Reborn, this allows me to bring back the monster I discarded with Tribute to the Doomed, Darkest Diabolos Lord of the Lair." A massive dragon covered in red markings appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2000). "And I'll equip him with Fairy Meteor Crush."

"Oh no!" Theorn gasped "Now when he attacks a monster in defence mode, Fairbanks will take damage."

"That's right" Duhaime sneered "Now Darkest Diabolos, take out one of those Thunder Dragons!" The Dragon sent out a blast of black fire that engulfed and destroyed one of the Thunder Dragons and knocked Fairbanks back.

 **Fairbanks: 2800  
Duhaime: 1600**

"And now Mist Archfiend, destroy that Pheasant" Duhaime added and the Archfiend turned into a cloud of red mist which whooshed around the Pheasant and caused the monster to groan before shattering.

 **Fairbanks: 1400  
Duhaime: 1600**

Duhaime laughed as Fairbanks fell to his knees "I end my turn here. But you may as well give up, this duel is over, there is nothing in your deck that can save you."

"That's not true!" Jaden shouted "A true Duellist never gives up, he always keeps going until the last card is played even when the odds are against you."

Fairbanks smirked "That's right" he stated as he pushed himself up "Our life points are nearly tied and while you have the upper hand with your monsters, I still have a chance." He looked at his deck 'I just have to draw the right card.' He thought and then he drew his card and smirked when he looked at it and laughed "Well, it seems luck is on my side, I sacrifice Thunder Dragon in order to summon Wattaildragon in attack mode." A blue scaled dragon appeared with blue lightning coming from his claws at the feet (Level 6 Attack 2500 Defence 1000).

Duhaime laughed "That can't defeat me" he stated "It's too weak to destroy my Darkest Diabolos and I'll still have life points if he attacks Mist Archfiend."

Fairbanks smirked "Too bad neither of those monsters are his target." He stated which confused everyone "I play the spell card Wattkey, now my Dragon, can attack you directly."

"Say what!" Chazz gasped in shock.

Theorn was in shock but happy "That means that Fairbanks wins."

"No!" Duhaime gasped

"Oh yes" Fairbanks smirked "Wattaildragon, attack him directly." The dragon swooped into the air and was covered in blue lightning and then blasted Duhaime with that lightning. Duhaime groaned and was thrown back and into a wall where he crumbled to the floor.

 **Fairbanks: 1400 (Winner)  
Duhaime: 0000**

"All right!" Jaden cheered "He did it."

Duhaime pushed himself to his knees and glared at Fairbanks "You'll pay for this!" he growled "Just you wait, you and your followers won't last much longer. When we strike back, you'll all suffer!"

" **You won't be involved in that!"** a voice growled.

Duhaime gasped in fear as several dark Shadows appeared before him "No, this can't be!" he gasped "You're supposed to be sealed away!"

" **Your loss has allowed us to take our revenge"** the Shadows growled and then they started swooping around Duhaime who began to clutch his head in pain.

Jaden, Theorn, Chazz and Fairbanks widened their eyes as the dark shadows surrounded Duhaime and then Duhaime glowed which made everyone cover their eyes and then when the light faded, Duhaime was gone.

"Wait what happened?" Jaden asked "Where did he go?"

Fairbanks thought for a second "Duhaime has captured and tormented many spirits and not just those from the people he turned into crystals. He's been into old ruins and he may have taken some of the angry spirits with him. Those spirits have been unleashed and have taken him back to their realm. I can't say that I feel sorry for him after what he's done."

Theorn looked at them "Well now that we've dealt with the Freemen here, we should get inside and deal with General Maliphant."

"Agreed" Fairbanks stated "Soon my people will be much safer."

The group then headed inside to deal with Maliphant.

 **Chapter Finished:**

 **Notes: Well after a long wait, I've finally finished this chapter though I've split it into two because I was originally going to have the duel with Maliphant as well but with how long this duel was taking, I decided to write another chapter though it might be a short chapter.**


	22. The Dark Knight

**The Dark Knight:**

Inside Ville Maurel, the Freeman Leader General Maliphant watched as his remaining men were defeated by the small group led by Fairbanks using his magical crystal that allowed him to see what was going on. "Those fools!" he growled to himself "How could they allow themselves to be defeated!" He looked around the room he was in which was the treasure room which held a supply of rare cards given to the Freeman by the Venatori which included new XYZ and Synchro monsters. "No matter, I'll deal with them myself and thanks to the Venatori, I have what I need to build myself the best deck of Dark Warriors. I should prepare for when they come in." Maliphant began searching through the piles of cards to find the right ones for his deck.

...

Meanwhile, Jaden along with Theorn, Chazz and Fairbanks had entered Ville Maurel but they were confused to find out that the Freeman Headquarters was just a messed up house. This place was once lived in by wealthy people because the house was well decorated but now that decoration was ruined. Vases from the shelves and windowsills had been smashed on the ground and paintings had been torn off the walls.

"Man, this place has seen better days." Jaden commented

"What happened to the people that once lived here?" Chazz questioned "Surely the owners of this place would not allow their valuables to be lost."

"My guess is that the Freeman must have kicked them out or turned them into crystals with the help of the Venatori. There have been fights here which I can tell thanks to the blood here" he looked at some blood on the walls. "This is either from the owners or from training or punishment that the Freemen used on their men."

"This place is huge" Theorn stated "How are we supposed to find General Maliphant here?"

"Maybe we should split up" Jaden suggested "We can cover more ground."

Fairbanks looked a bit concerned at that "I don't know" he stated "Maliphant may have set some traps here for us; we don't want to fall into one of them."

"Searching this place will take a long time and we don't have a lot of time" Chazz stated "A duel is one on one so we don't all need to be together."

"Chazz is right" Theorn agreed "I don't like the idea of going alone since we don't know who else is here but we have to find Maliphant. If one of us catches him then we'll find you. Also, while we're here, we should try and gather supplies for both Fairbanks' camp and for our journey."

"Right" Jaden commented "So we should start searching then."

"Good luck all of you" Fairbanks stated "And be careful."

...

The group split up and began searching for both General Maliphant and also for supplies that they could take with them. They looked around slowly so that they didn't fall into any traps that the Freemen could have set for them or any more Freemen members that were waiting to ambush them. Fairbanks was searching the area near the entrance trying to see if he could find any supplies that could help his people. So far he found several wardrobes that had been smashed and most of the clothes that had been in them were torn and so he was only able to salvage a few bits of clothing that would be able to help his people but he did manage to find some lanterns and oil which would be useful for Jaden's group when they were travelling.

Chazz meanwhile had found an old dining room and kitchen. Whoever had lived here had been wealthy as he found silver knives and forks as well as silver plates and silver cups so the owners of this place must have been wealthy. All of this silver was useless to them and Chazz was not a thief, he was looking for the Freeman or supplies they could use, he wasn't looking to get rich. But he did find some food in some of the kitchen cabinets such as bread, it wasn't the best but it was still better than nothing so he began packing it into some bags.

Theorn was on the other side of Ville Maurel where he found what looked liked the bedroom. The bedroom was well furnished and the master bedroom was still in good condition so it seemed that Maliphant was using this room as his personal sleeping area. Most of the other furniture had been smashed such as the bedside tables and chairs but the beds still had good blankets which they would need for sleeping in the cold so Theorn decided to bring a few of them so he began selecting a few for the group to use when they started travelling to find the rest of their friends.

Jaden had the final part of the Villa to search. After going through the courtyard, he found an area that was cut off from the rest of the Villa and quickly went in to see if he could find supplies. But to his dismay, it looked like he found the main study as there was a desk at the far end of the room and several bookshelves filled with books.

"Oh man!" Jaden groaned "I hate reading except for cards!" he walked over to the desk and began opening the draws on the desk to see if there was anything inside but he found nothing. He carried on searching but then he started hearing a loud noise like something smashing coming nearby so he activated his Duel Disk and began looking around.

Then out of nowhere, the wall nearby was smashed apart which made Jaden step back and activated his duel disk and look at where the noise had come from and saw a massive hole in the wall where there was a hidden room and standing in the middle was a muscular man who was much older than him but Jaden saw the crazy look in his eyes "Who are you boy!" he growled "You're not Fairbanks!"

Jaden narrowed his eyes at him "The name's Jaden Yuki and I'm a friend of Fairbanks! I take it that you're General Maliphant, where are the rest of the Freemen?"

The name narrowed his eyes more which made his eyes glow red "I am indeed General Maliphant and as for the rest of the Freemen, they all went with Ser Auguste or decided to leave here. No matter, you don't look that though, I will take you down and then take my revenge on the ones who betrayed me including the Warrior Faction and the Venatori and the best part will be because it will be thanks to the powerful crystals that the Venatori gifted me!"

Jaden just narrowed his eyes more and held his arm out ready "Alright, get your game on!" he hissed and then Maliphant activated his own Duel Disk.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Jaden: 8000  
Maliphant: 8000**

"Since I'm the oldest, it means that I'm superior so I'll go first" Maliphant stated as he drew his sixth card "And I'll start by summoning Dark Blade in attack mode" a tall knight dressed in black armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1500). "And since I control Dark Blade, I can special summon Dark Swordsman in attack mode" another black armoured knight but with lighter armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200). "That will do it for me" he stated

Jaden drew his card "My draw" he stated and smiled when he looked at his hand "I play the spell card Polymerization which allows me to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." A red and green hero with a dragon head for a hand appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2100 Defence 1200). "And now Flame Wingman, attack Dark Blade with Skydiving Scorcher" Flame Wingman jumped into the air and swooped through Dark Blade and destroyed him.

 **Jaden: 8000  
Maliphant: 7700**

"And there's more" Jaden smirked "Because now my Wingman's ability activates so you take damage equal to the attack points of the monster I just destroyed." Maliphant gasped as Flame Wingman appeared in front of him and then blasted him with the dragon hand which threw him back.

 **Jaden: 8000  
Maliphant: 5900**

"And now I will end my turn" Jaden finished

Maliphant narrowed his eyes as he drew his card "My draw" he stated "And I play the spell card Reinforcement of the army which allows me to add a level 4 or lower warrior type monster to my hand and I choose my Armageddon Soldier which I will now summon" a small black haired man with black armour and armed with two swords appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 800).

Jaden noticed that the monster looked familiar "Wait that looks almost like Marauding Captain" he stated as the monster had the same face.

Maliphant sneered "This is a dark version of that very monster and it has the same effects so now I can summon another level 4 or lower warrior monster from my hand and what better than another Armageddon Soldier." A second soldier appeared on the field.

This made Jaden gasped "But it they have similar effects, does that mean..."

Jaden didn't finish as Maliphant finished for him "That they protect each other?" he finished "Yes you do, you cannot attack any other warrior monsters with Armageddon Soldier on the field so they protect each other so now I'll end my turn."

Jaden sighed "I guess there isn't much I can do for now but boast my defence." He said to himself and he looked at his hand 'Flame Wingman is the strongest monster on the field but he can't attack thanks to those Armageddon Soldiers and diffusing him will just give Maliphant the upper hand, so I guess I'll have to go with something else.' He took a card from his hand "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defence mode" a clay golem warrior appeared on the field kneeling down with his arms crossed (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 200). "That will do it for me." He finished 'Clayman still has more Defence points than all of Maliphant's monsters.'

Maliphant laughed "You think that just because your monsters are stronger means that you have the upper hand?" he questioned "Well you're wrong." He drew his card "I play the spell card Monster Reborn which allows me to bring my Dark Blade back to the field." The Dark Blade monster returned to the field "But he won't be around for long, because now I'm going to overlay my Dark Blade and Dark Swordmaster."

"Wait, overlay?" Jaden questioned "This must be a new summoning method just like Synchro."

Maliphant smirked "Yes, it called XYZ summoning, now by overlaying two level 4 monsters, I can summon a rank 4 XYZ monster from my extra deck like my Dark Headsman." A tall scary looking man wearing the robes of an executioner and wielding a massive axe appeared on the field (Rank 4 Attack 2300 Defence 1000). "And now you're about to see the power of XYZ, now by using one overlay unit, I can destroy one monster on your field, and the monster I pick is Elemental Hero Clayman." Jaden gasped as he watched one of the beams of light surrounding the Headsman get absorbed by the axe and then he slashed and destroyed Clayman. "And now he will attack that birdbrain of yours" the Headsman swung his axe again and cut Flame Wingman in two.

 **Jaden: 7800  
Maliphant: 5900**

"And my Armageddon Soldiers still have their attacks so now they'll attack you directly" Maliphant added and the two soldiers slashed Jaden with their swords which made Jaden yell out in pain and fall to his knees.

 **Jaden: 5200  
Maliphant: 5900**

Jaden groaned "I felt that?" he stated "That's just as bad as all the other Shadow Duels that I've been in."

"I get that power from the Venatori" Maliphant sneered "At least they did one good thing but watching those weaker than me scream in pain shows just how skilled I am since it shows that I'm more powerful. Well there isn't anything else I can do for now so I end my turn."

...

Meanwhile in the other parts of the Ville, Chazz, Fairbanks and Theorn met up in the courtyard. "So what did you find?" Fairbanks asked "I managed to find some oil lanterns."

"Well I managed to find some leftover blankets in the bedroom" Theorn stated as he showed the blankets which were tied to his back.

"I managed to find some leftover food in the kitchens" Chazz stated "So where's Jaden?"

A loud cry interrupted them "Wait that sounds like him!" Theorn gasped

Fairbanks widened his eyes "It seems Maliphant has found him. We must get to the North Wing, that's where he was searching." The three of them ran over to the North Wing and gasped when they saw Jaden on the ground and he was losing the duel.

 **Jaden: 5200  
Maliphant: 5900**

"Jaden!" Theorn yelled as Jaden managed to get up.

Jaden groaned as he pushed himself up and looked at them "Hey guys" he greeted

This made Chazz sigh "Jaden, you were suppose to alert us if you found Maliphant!" he hissed

"I never got the chance, he ambushed me" Jaden protested "Anyway I have got a problem now, I can't attack because of those Armageddon Soldiers, they block my attacks."

Maliphant laughed "Which means you stand no chance of winning this duel!" he sneered "So why don't you make things easier and surrender."

Jaden glared at Maliphant "I never surrender, no matter how difficult the situation is. I always stand strong." He may look brave but he was worried on the inside 'I just don't know what I can do, those Armageddon soldiers block my attacks and anything I summon will just get destroyed by that Headsman.' He sighed as he drew his card "My draw" he looked at the card he drew, it was a risk but it was the only chance he had "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode" the blue aqua hero with the water pistols appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 800 Defence 1200) "And when he's the only monster out, I can draw two cards from my deck" Jaden drew two cards and then looked at his hand before adding "Then I'll end my turn by throwing two cards facedown."

Maliphant sneered "That's it? Well I guess there isn't anything you can do. But for me, it looks like this duel is over, I summon Dark Axe in attack mode" a warrior dressed in black armour just like Dark Blade appeared on the field only this one wielded an axe instead of a sword (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 200). "And now I use my Headsman's ability which allows me to use his last overlay unit to destroy your Bubbleman" the Headsman swung his axe and destroyed Bubbleman. "And with no monsters on your field, this duel is over, now attack him directly!"

Theorn, Fairbanks and Jaden gasped in shock "Jaden!" they gasped

Jaden smirked "I's not over yet!" he yelled "Because I have a trap card out, Negate attack which cancels your attack and ends your battle phase."

Maliphant growled that his attack had failed "Well then I end my turn but next turn, you're through!"

Jaden narrowed his eyes 'He's right' he thought as he looked at his deck 'I need to draw something good otherwise this duel is over.' He then drew his card "I play the spell card Graceful Charity which allows me to draw three cards as long as I discard two" Jaden drew three cards and then discarded two from his hand, one of which was Elemental Hero Necroshade which would be useful later. "And now I will use the cards I drew starting by playing the spell card Warrior Returning Alive which returns Clayman to my hand. Next I activate Fusion Sage which adds a Polymerization from my deck to my hand which I will use to fuse Elemental Heroes Clayman and Sparkman in order to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." A large golden golem with lightning in his hands appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2400 Defence 1500).

"What good will that do you?" Maliphant sneered "You still can't attack."

Jaden smirked "I wouldn't be too sure about that" he stated "You see, once per turn, Thunder Giant can destroy one monster on your field who's original attack points are less than Thunder Giant's which means I can end this defence. Thunder Giant; destroy one of those Armageddon Soldiers." Thunder Giant sent a blast of lightning which struck one of the soldiers and destroyed him. "And he still has his attack so destroy the other soldier." Thunder Giant then blasted the other soldier and this time dealt damage to Maliphant.

 **Jaden: 5200  
Maliphant: 4800**

"And to end my turn, I summon Wroughtweiler in defence mode." Jaden finished and a small mechanical dog appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 800 Defence 1200) "It's your move."

Maliphant growled as he drew his card "I may not be able to use my Headsman's effect but that doesn't mean that I can't do anything. Your Wroughtweiler is completely defenceless which means my Axe can take care of it, so go!" Dark Axe ran towards Jaden's field and swung his axe which cut the mechanical dog in two which then shattered.

Jaden smirked "There's a reason he's a Hero's best friend" he stated "Now I get an Elemental Hero and Polymerization back to my hand and I choose my good buddy Sparkman." But then he groaned in pain and fell to his knees.

 **Jaden: 4500  
Maliphant: 4800**

"Jaden!" Fairbanks, Theorn and Chazz yelled at the same time.

Jaden groaned "What was that?" he demanded

Maliphant laughed "That was my Dark Axe's special ability which deals piercing damage to you when he attacks a monster in defence mode. I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

Jaden groaned as he drew his card "I can still use my Thunder Giant's effect to destroy that Headsman of yours." Thunder Giant blasted Headsman with lightning and destroyed him. "And now he will attack that Dark Axe."

Theorn noticed something was wrong "Jaden wait, this might be a trap!" he yelled

Maliphant smirked "Your friend is right, I do have a trap, the trap card Sakuretsu Armour."

"Oh no!" Chazz yelled "That destroys Jaden's monster!" and he was right as the armour equipped itself to Thunder Giant and destroyed him.

This made Jaden groan "Then I guess I summon Sparkman in defence mode" the yellow and blue lightning Hero returned to the field. "Then I end my turn."

Chazz groaned "Jaden really needs to watch out sometimes" he stated "He just walked right into that trap."

"Hey!" Theorn snapped "Everyone falls into traps sometimes."

"Yeah but if Jaden loses then Maliphant will seal him in a crystal" Fairbanks stated "He really needs to be more careful in the future."

Maliphant drew his card "I'll start by summoning Dark Assassin in attack mode" an assassin warrior dressed in black leather armour and wore a hood to cover his face and wielding two daggers appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 800). "And now my Dark Axe will attack that Sparkman and remember you still take damage even when he's in defence mode." Dark Axe swung his axe and cut Sparkman in two which dealt damage to Jaden.

 **Jaden: 4000  
Maliphant: 4800**

Jaden smirked "I play my facedown card which I place a while ago, Hero Signal. Now since you destroyed an Elemental Hero monster, I can summon a level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck and I choose Elemental Hero Ocean." A dolphin like warrior wielding a trident appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200).

Maliphant smirked "It's not really going to stop my next attack" he stated. "Because Dark Assassin can attack you directly." Dark Assassin vanished in a puff of smoke and as Jaden was looking around, he felt himself get stabbed in the back as Dark Assassin appeared behind him and stab him before jumping over Jaden back to Maliphant's field as Jaden fell to his knees.

 **Jaden: 3000  
Maliphant: 4800**

"Ow!" Jaden groaned "That hurt."

"And it will hurt more next turn" Maliphant sneered "I end my turn"

Jaden groaned as he drew his card "My draw" he stated 'I need to find a way to get back into this duel' he though and he looked at his card and smiled as now he had a plan "I play the spell card E Emergency Call which allows me to add an Elemental Hero to my hand and I choose Elemental Hero Shadow Mist. But he won't be in my hand for long because now I play Polymerization again to fuse Ocean and Shadow Mist together." Ocean and a black stealth like warrior were sucked into a portal "Power of Shadows and the strength of a Hero, when they come together, they form a Hero that blends into the Shadows, I fusion summon Elemental Hero Escuridao in attack mode." A black shadowy like monster with claws was created (Level 8 Attack 2500 Defence 2000). "And Escuridao gains 100 attack points for every Elemental Hero in my graveyard, so with ten in my graveyard, that's an extra 1000 attack points." More shadowy spikes grew from Escuridao's body as he gained power (EHE Attack 2500-3500). "And now Escuridao, destroy that Assassin!" Jaden ordered and Escuridao fired a shadowy spike from her body which impaled the Assassin and destroyed him.

 **Jaden: 3000  
Maliphant: 2300**

"And there's one more thing" Jaden stated "Since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, I can add Elemental Hero Woodsman to my hand. Now I end my turn."

Maliphant drew his card and laughed "You think that just because you've got a monster with more than 3000 attack points that you have the advantage?" he questioned "Well you're wrong, I'll start by playing the spell card the Warrior Returning Alive which gives me back my Dark Blade from my graveyard. But there's more, you're not the only one who can Fusion summon, I fuse Dark Blade in my hand with Dark Axe on my field" the two black armoured warriors were sucked into a portal "Highly trained soldier, trained to fight for darkness, I call upon the most dangerous Warrior around. I fusion summon Dark Blade Master Swordsman in attack mode." A new black armoured warrior appeared on the field only this one had much heavier armour than Dark Blade and his sword was also an axe on the other side and he also wore a long cape (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 2100). "And while he may not be strong enough to take out your Dark Hero, his ability will, since he was fusion summoned using Dark Blade as materiel, he can destroy one monster on your field."

"But that will leave Jaden defenceless!" Theorn yelled

"Which makes him vulnerable" Maliphant smirked "Now destroy that Dark Hero." Dark Blade Master Swordsman swung his sword and the axe part impaled Escuridao and destroyed her. "Now attack him directly!" the warrior charged forward again and slashed Jaden so hard that he cried out in pain and collapsed forward and lay on the ground.

 **Jaden: 300  
Maliphant: 2300**

"I end my turn" Maliphant stated "But I don't see any point in you carry on this duel. I have a powerful monster and more life points. You stand no chance against me."

"That's not true!" Chazz yelled "Jaden has faced worst than you and he's found ways to full through before even when the odds were against him. He can do the same here."

Jaden was indeed able to push himself up but groaned in pain. He had been able to hear every word said "Chazz is right" he stated "I may be in pain from that attack but a duel is not over until the last card is played so while I still have cards and life points, this duel is not over. My draw"

Maliphant laughed "Fool! You should have just run when you had the chance."

Jaden looked at his hand "Well I have a chance to get the cards I need with this, the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards" he looked at his hand 'I'm have to draw something good otherwise this duel is over for me.' He then drew his cards and smirked when he looked at them "I'll start by summoning Elemental Hero Bladedge to the field in attack mode." A golden armoured warrior appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2600 Defence 1800).

"Wait, how did you summon that with no sacrifices?" Maliphant demanded "A level 7 monster requires two sacrifices."

Jaden smirked "It's thanks to a Hero known as Necroshade which I sent to the graveyard a while back with Graceful Charity, it allows me to summon an Elemental Hero without sacrificing. It may not be strong enough but I'm not done, I play Fusion Recovery which gives me back Polymerization and Elemental Hero Ocean in my graveyard. Then I will use Polymerization to fuse Ocean and Woodsman together." The Dolphin Hero and the Tree like hero appeared and were sucked into a portal "Created from the stars of space, I create a Hero that can travel throughout time and space, I fusion summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma in attack mode" a glowing white warrior with a red chest appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2500 Defence 2000).

Maliphant laughed "What good will that do?" he demanded "Neither of those monsters have the strength to defeat my Master Swordsman."

Jaden smirked "Not right now they don't but just like you did with your Master Swordsman; my Terra Firma has a special ability which allows him to absorb the attack points of my Bladedge."

"He can!" Maliphant gasped and he watched as Bladedge faded and was absorbed by the large crystal in Terra Firma's chest (EHTF Attack 2500-5100). "No, this can't be, I can't lose!"

"You just did!" Jaden smirked "Terra Firma, attack Master Swordsman!" Terra Firma jumped into the air and then shot towards Master Swordsman at supersonic speed and zapped straight through and through Maliphant which knocked him back.

 **Jaden: 300 (Winner)  
Maliphant: 0000**

"All right!" Theorn cheered

"He did it" Fairbanks smiled "He defeated the Freeman leader.

Maliphant stood up and glared at Jaden with hatred in his eyes "Just because you've beaten me doesn't mean that I'll let you go. I have other ways to defeat you!" he pulled out a large red crystal from his pocket and held it in front of him. The crystal emitted a bright red light which made everyone cover their eyes and they all heard Maliphant laughing like crazy. But then the crystal exploded and the light faded which made Jaden and the other look at Maliphant and saw that the crystal had exploded and now Maliphant was glowing red "No, no!" he yelled "This can't be happening!" they all watched in shock as Maliphant began to disintegrate and fall to the floor into a pile of red ash as he screeched in pain.

When it was over, all that was left of Maliphant was a pile of red ash "What was that?" Chazz asked

Fairbanks stepped forward "What you saw was a power source that the Venatori gave to the Freemen to make them more powerful. This was a way of making them more powerful but it is also very dangerous." He then looked through the hole where Maliphant had busted through before "That was how he broke through the wall and there is more of that stuff in here. I'll have to shut this area of the Ville off when my people move here. It's not safe." He went over to Maliphant's ashes and found a key in the pile "This key must open that other door; I want to see what's in there."

Fairbanks walked over and unlocked the door and when he opened it, Jaden and the others gasped when they saw a stash of rare cards hidden.

"Looks like we've found the Freemen's stash of rare cards" Theorn stated

Fairbanks smiled "These will surely be able to help my people if the Venatori decide to return." He stated

...

Far away from the forest, Solona along with the survivors from Redcliffe were still making their way across the land. They had been travelling for days and many of them were tired.

"How much further now Evangeline?" Solona asked "My feet are starting to get sore from all the walking."

Evangeline sighed "Not far now" she then looked ahead and smiled "In fact, that's the fortress just over there."

Solona looked ahead and smiled when they saw the remains of the fortress they had been looking for. After days of travelling and the fear that at any time they could be attacked again, they were finally here and were safe from the Warriors for now and they had the chance to warn the Spellcasters of the upcoming threat.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Another chapter down and next chapter will have a major part of the plot, something I have planned for a while. The Freemen are mostly defeated now and won't return for a long time. This will be the final chapter I upload for a time since I'm going on holiday so I won't be updating until I return. The deck I used for Maliphant was one I created using the Dark Blade card.**

 **Created Cards:**

Dark Swordsman: Level 4, Dark Attribute, Warrior Type, Attack 1500 Defence 1200: You can special summon this card from your hand if you only control 1 Dark Blade.

Dark Axe: Level 4, Dark Attribute, Warrior Type, Attack 1900 Defence 200: When this card attacks a monster in defence mode, deal piercing damage.

Dark Assassin: Level 3, Dark Attribute, Warrior Type, Attack 1000 Defence 800: This card can attack your opponent directly.

Dark Headsman: Rank 4 XYZ, Dark Attribute, Warrior Type, Two Dark Warrior Level 4 monsters: Once per turn, remove 1 overlay unit to destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.

Dark Blade Master Swordsman: Level 7 Fusion, Dark Attribute, Warrior Type, 2 Dark Warrior type monsters. If this card is fusion summoned using Dark Blade as a fusion materiel, destroy one monster on your opponent's field.


	23. Andoral's Reach:

**Andoral's Reach:**

The Spellcaster Leader, Fiona, sat in one of the towers of the ruined fortress known as Andoral's Reach that was being used as her headquarters. This tower was one of the few parts of the castle that was still in good condition and it also had a good view of the valley below. Her second in command Anders was also at the fortress since Fiona wanted to make sure that the fortress was ready for a fight as she knew that Anders was a skilled Duellist.

"What reports do we have Anders?" Fiona asked

"We've heard nothing from Redcliffe in a while and it's starting to get me worried" Anders replied "There's a possibility that the castle may have fallen."

"If that has happened then the Warrior army might be preparing for an invasion and an attack on Andoral's Reach may be imminent." Fiona stated and she looked at Anders "I need you to make sure that our forces are ready for an attack, even as a ruin this place can still hold them off if we have a surprise attack from the hills. I need you to select a group that will hide in the hills and then attack when we give the signal."

Anders nodded "I'll go find a group, but first I must ask you about those strangers who you brought back. I still don't trust them, how do we know they aren't spies."

"I can tell because of what I saw." Fiona answered "I've only seen three of that group duel, one used a Spellcaster deck and was skilled. One used a Warrior deck but he didn't act like a member of the Warrior Faction, he was not hunting Spellcasters down, he was trying to protect innocent people. And the third one used a mixed type of deck. But I know Cullen, he doesn't make a mistake and if he claims they aren't from the Warrior faction, then they aren't. But even so, you do have a point so I'll have someone keep an eye on you."

But then the door opened and Anders turned and glared at the man who entered without knocking. The man was young and looked a bit scared and wore full robes "What is it Alain, this better be important!"

"It is" Alain answered "The lookouts have reported that a large group is heading this way."

"The Warrior Faction's army?" Fiona questioned

Alain sighed "They don't know for certain but they didn't look like Warriors except for the leader."

Fiona looked at Anders and she nodded and the two of them grabbed their Duel Disks and went to the walls to confront this approaching force.

...

Solona stood alongside Evangeline as they led the survivors from Redcliffe towards Andoral's Reach. Solona was worried about one thing "Evangeline?" she questioned "What happens if the Spellcasters won't listen to us? What happens if they turn us away. You're a Warrior so they may not trust you."

Evangeline smiled "Don't worry about that, I have something to say to them that will make them listen and even if we don't, we'll go North where the Warriors don't have any power."

They group soon approached the fortress and Evangeline saw that the spellcasters were preparing for a fight. So she looked at Solona and the two of them walked alone to the wall. As they approached, they were called by the leader of the men on the wall.

"Halt!" a male voice called which was Anders "I cannot let you go any further until I know who you are and why you are here."

"We come in peace" Evangeline stated "I'm leading these refugees from Redcliffe to safety and to warn you. The Warrior Faction has taken Redcliffe and Teagan has fallen. The Warriors will be coming here soon."

Anders glared at her "How do we know that you're not with them. I can tell that you're a Warrior Faction member from your looks."

Evangeline sighed "I had a feeling that you would say something like that so I need to remind you of something. What did Rhys tell you about me?"

Then a woman dressed in blue robes stepped forward with wide eyes, it was Fiona, the leader of the Spellcaster Faction "So you're Evangeline, you're the Warrior that saved Rhys. He did say that we could trust you." She turned to her guards "Open the Gates let them in. But keep your eyes peeled for the Warrior Faction's army, they'll be here soon."

Evangeline sighed in relief and then the Gates opened and the refugees from Redcliffe entered the fortress and they were happy that they were safe for now and were no longer at risk of being attacked. Solona followed the refugees in and saw that here at Andoral's Reach; the Spellcasters looked like they could hold themselves in a fight much better than what Redcliffe could. But then she heard someone shout her name and when she saw the person who shouted, her eyes widened in shock when she saw who it was and that person's eyes widened too.

...

Daylen Amell had woken up to another normal day at Andoral's Reach. Ever since he, Aedan, Kallian and Neria had arrived at the fortress, the four of them had been duelling the Spellcaster members and slowly been building a friendship with them. At first, the Spellcasters had been very suspicious of them but they were more suspicious of Aedan and Kallian since their decks were Warrior decks but slowly, they had been able to show that they weren't like the Warrior Faction. Although some people such as the second in command, Anders, were still suspicious of them.

As he left the hut that he had been sleeping in and looked around, he saw that a large crowd had gathered near the main gate which was open and he was wondering what was going on. He soon saw his friends, Aedan, Kallian and Neria standing nearby and he walked over to them.

Neria was the first one to notice him "I see that you're awake now." She stated

"I am now" Daylen sighed "I haven't been sleeping well ever since we got here, I can't stop worrying about my sister and our other friends." He then looked at the gathered crowd "Do any of you have any idea on what's going on here. Why have all these people gathered?"

Aedan looked at him "Alain told me about how he spotted a large force heading here and they thought it was the Warriors preparing for an attack. But it turns out that these people are refugees from Redcliffe. That means that the Warriors will be here soon so we must be ready."

Then they watched as the refugees entered the fortress. Many of them looked tired and scared but relieved that they had found shelter at last. Many of these people did not look like fighters so Fiona would send them to a better place where they would be safe. But then Aedan noticed that Kallian was just staring ahead and he looked at her "Hey Kallian?" he questioned "Is everything alright"

Kallian just pointed forward "Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" she questioned "Is that really her?"

Daylen was confused as to what Kallian was talking about but when he looked at the refugees again, his eyes widened when he saw one of them. It was a woman who looked to be the same age as him with long black hair. She looked just like Solona but then he realised that this had to be his sister. So he went over to the refugees and shouted "Solona!" that shout got everyone's attention and everyone looked at him including the person who looked like Solona.

The girl started at him with wide eyes before gasping "Daylen!" Daylen now knew that this defiantly was his sister and then the people cleared the space between them and then the two of them ran at each other and embraced.

Everyone stared at this in shock. Fiona was up on the walls and smiled as it seemed that she had been able to reunite a lost family.

...

Far away from Andoral's Reach, at Ville Maurel, Aristide Amell along with Alexis and Avexis were reunited with Theorn, Jaden and Chazz after they had defeated General Maliphant and taken the main Freeman stronghold. With Maliphant's death, the power of the Freemen was pretty much broken and it was safe for Fairbanks to move his people from the campsite in the gorge to this place. Fairbank's people had settled in and now Aristide and his group were leaving the forest to continue their search for Solona and the others.

Aristide and Fairbanks were talking to each other while Jaden stood with Alexis, Theorn, Chazz and Avexis near the main gate.

"I want to thank you for what you and your friends here have done for my people" Fairbanks told Aristide.

"While we wanted to carry on our search for our missing friends, it was just wrong to abandon people in need" Aristide stated "We had to do something to help you. Maybe now that the Freemen have been defeated, your people will be safe now."

Fairbanks looked at him "Ser Auguste is still out there but he's no leader" he stated "Without Maliphant, the Freemen won't be as strong as they were before and my people should be safe here. I wish you luck in your search."

"And I wish you luck in helping your people" Aristide replied and the two of them shook hand. Then Aristide walked over to the gates where the others were waiting for him.

"So where do we go now?" Alexis asked

"We are still lost in this forest" Chazz stated

Aristide smiled and pulled out a map "Fairbanks recovered this when his people moved here. This map shows a path that leads out of the forest. We just have to go north of this place to find a large river and if we follow the river west, then it will lead us to the edge of this forest and towards the mountains where we may find a sign of our friends."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaden questioned "We should get going, our friends need us."

Aristide smiled "Thanks to Fairbanks, we have more supplies so we should be alright for a few days where we can hopefully get out of this forest. Now let's go." Aristide then led Jaden, Alexis, Chazz, Theorn and Avexis out of the gates and towards the river he'd found on the map.

...

The reunion between Solona and her friends was unexpected but not unwelcome. She was happy to see that she was not alone in this world but her friends had some explaining to do. Fiona and the Spellcasters had seen that they needed some time alone and she had given them use of a small house nearby. Solona sat at a table in the house along with Daylen, Neria, Aedan and Kallian.

Daylen looked at his sister "So what happened after you got transported here?" he asked

Solona sighed as she relived the memory "I ended up in a place called Kirkwall which I was told is the capital of the Warrior Territory. After I was able to escape with help from Evangeline, I made it to the Redcliffe where I stayed until that place was attacked. I helped Evangeline lead the survivors here after that." She looked at her brother after that "So what about you? How did you guys get here?"

"Dorian and Cassandra" Daylen answered "They brought Alexius over and he told us about this Dimension. He built a new portal machine and Crowler and Jaden had a duel to create energy to take a small team. But the portal overpowered and we all got sucked in."

"All of you?" Solona gasped "Who else is here?"

"Well, as well as us, Jaden, Theorn, Zane and Crowler were part of the team." Aedan answered

"I wasn't though" Kallian stated "But I saw Aristide, Alexis, Chazz, Sereda and Avexis get sucked in before the portal closed on us. Dorian and Cassandra were able to stay along with Alexius."

"So now we have to find them as well" Solona stated

"We'll find them" Daylen stated "But first we must try and survive this incoming attack. If what you said is true then the Warrior Faction will be coming here next."

Solona looked at them "Well I know one thing, this place will hold better than Redcliffe did. Most of the people there were civilians."

It was then that the door opened and the man who Daylen recognised as Alain entered "Commander Fiona would like to see you all."

"Tell her we'll be right out" Aedan stated and then he along with the others stood up and left the house.

They went into the courtyard and saw Fiona standing in the middle with Anders and Evangeline standing next to her. Most of the people in the fortress were also standing around as Fiona began her speech.

"Alright people, this is it" Fiona spoke "The Warrior Army is on its way here and this fortress is all that stands in the way of freedom and the Warriors taking over this whole world and winning the war. But we're not going to just sit by and allow these Warriors to take over. We're not going to go down without a fight. We're going to stay here and defend this fortress down to the last spellcaster. Tell me, will you fight?" the crowd cheered in response "Then we will show the Warriors that they cannot take whatever they want. And we will show them that this is our land." That got more cheers "Our plan is to have Anders hide some of our forces out of sight before the battle in order to attack the Warriors in the rear. Our new friends from Redcliffe will also be aiding us led by Evangeline here." He pointed to Evangeline "Now all of those people from Redcliffe are being escorted out to a safe place so they don't get caught in the battle but a few decided to stay. Now I need everyone here to prepare for when the Warriors come, they will not show mercy so don't expecting it which means you must be as prepared as you can."

Fiona then walked off from the stage as the crowd began to clear away and then Fiona walked over to Solona and her group "Your name is Solona right?" she asked

"It is" Solona replied

"Evangeline spoke highly of you" Fiona stated "I don't think she told you but we trust her because she helped one of my personal friends called Rhys escape from the Warrior prison which is why we trust her. She said you duel with Dragons so I must ask that you remain here. Your dragons may be the strongest weapon we have here and we must hold the Warriors off as long as we can." She then sighed as she looked at Aedan and Kallian "As for you two, I know that just after being reunited, you would want to remain together but Anders has demanded that the two of you go with him as part of the Vanguard. He still doesn't trust you so much."

Aedan sighed "We have little choice but to obey orders." He stated in defeat.

Daylen looked at him "Don't worry, I'll come with you" he stated

"Me too" Neria agreed but Daylen shook his head

"I want you to remain here Neria" Daylen replied "I want one of my friends to remain here with my sister. My deck is a Spellcaster so the vanguard would be more comfortable with me out there."

"Alright" Neria sighed "But promise me that you'll be careful."

"We'll be fine Neria" Kallian stated "You managed to defeat the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts; we can survive this if we work together."

Daylen nodded "She's right. We can do this but even so Neria; I want you to promise me something. If anything bad happens then I need you to protect Solona."

"Don't talk like that!" Solona snapped "You'll be fine."

Daylen smiled at his sister "You always were able to help with your words."

Fiona smiled at them as she saw that they had a close friendship but Anders was not as impressed "Alright" he stated "Now that we have done that, we must prepare to head out."

Daylen nodded and then he along with Aedan and Kallian walked with Anders and Evangeline as they left Andoral's Reach and followed him towards a place where they would be waiting to strike.

...

After the Fall of Redcliffe, the Warrior's army had begun their long march towards the fortress of Andoral's Reach where they would strike against the Spellcasters and then end the war and win where they would finally bring order to this world. They were about a day's march from the fortress but Meredith had decided to send a few scouts ahead led by a man known as Tavish. Tavish had now returned with the scouts with his report.

"So Tavish?" Meredith asked "What did you find?"

"It seems that sending a small group to scout was a good idea" Tavish stated "It seems that the Spellcasters have sent a small group to a small valley in order to attack us in the rear."

"Ha!" Karras laughed "They will never defeat the full might of the Warrior Faction."

Meredith looked at Karras "I like your beliefs Karras but remember, these Spellcasters are well trained. They're not like the people of Redcliffe."

"Speaking of that, the survivors from Redcliffe are here as well" Tavish added "The traitor Evangeline is with the small force who got away along with two other Warrior Duelists who I heard being called Aedan and Kallian but I have no idea about what they duel with."

That caught Meredith's attention and she knew what she would do next "Alrik, I want you to keep the main army here. Karras and I will take a small force to deal with this group of Spellcasters. I'm going personally since they have something I want."

Alrik nodded "As you command" he replied.

Meredith led a group through the hills and smiled as she looked at the Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier card that she took from Teagan. She knew that Evangeline had one of the others with her which was why Meredith wanted to go "Just you wait Evangeline, soon I will have the second Dragon card that should be mine."

...

Night had fallen over the valley. There was very little light as Anders didn't want the Warrior Faction to notice that they were here so he wouldn't allow a fire to be made. But he had special crystals that made a small amount of light so at least they could see each other. Anders had a few scouts to keep an eye out but most of the reinforcements were near Anders.

"So what happens after we're defeated the Warrior's army?" Daylen asked

"Hopefully we can inflict enough damage to the Warriors to show that they can be defeated and weaken then so they'll be easier to fight in the future" Anders replied

"And afterwards, Commander Fiona can start planning our counter attack." Evangeline added "We show that the Warriors can be defeated and we can slowly regain the land and push our way to Kirkwall or at least take out Meredith. The only way for this war to end is to take out Meredith, Alrik and Karras. They're the main leaders of the Warriors; most of the others just follow her orders."

"Well hopefully this counter attack can happen soon." Kallian stated

"We might want to start getting a bit of rest." Daylen added "It's going to be a long day."

Anders agreed "Just remember, when we see the signal, we must start our attack on the Warrior army." He stated

It was then that they heard a soft growl with made them look around "What was that?" Aedan asked

Evangeline stood up and looked at where the growl had come from and she heard it again only it was much louder. But this made her widen her eyes "Oh no!" she gasped and then she turned around "They've found us! It's the Warriors." Then a large snake like dragon with ice blue scaled appeared and blasted Evangeline with ice like breath which knocked her aside. Then many Warrior type Duel monsters appeared. Daylen recognised some of them such as Marauding Captain, Twin sword Marauder and Command Knight which began attacking the Spellcaster duellists. Daylen, Kallian and Aedan stood up and activated their duel disks.

Anders stood up too "Summon your monsters!" he yelled "We have to battle these things!"

Daylen pulled a few cards from his deck "I summon my old pal Dark Magician in attack mode!" he yelled and the purple robbed magician appeared "Use Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician blasted Command Knight backwards which destroyed her.

"I summon Knight Commander in attack mode" Aedan yelled and his Knight Commander appeared and began battling the Warrior monsters.

"I'll help with my powerful Grand Jupiter in attack mode" Kallian added as the Grand Jupiter appeared on the field.

Evangeline had managed to recover and grabbed Anders "Get back to Andoral's Reach!" she yelled "You must warn them of this attack, we'll hold them off!"

Anders looked worried but knew he had no choice as he watched other Spellcaster Duellists fall. "I know we didn't get on well but good luck to you all." He stated

Evangeline nodded and then Anders ran off as Evangeline activated her own Duel Disk.

Daylen, Kallian and Aedan's monsters were able to hold off the Warriors attacking monsters but the Dragon was a problem. Just like their monsters, the dragon was powerful and the Grand Jupiter was now fighting it. But then they heard a laugh and watched as a blond haired woman appeared.

"Let's see how that monster of yours handles this" she stated as she held a card "Ice Blast." The large dragon roared as it gained power and then gained the upper hand and it grabbed the leg of the Grand Jupiter and threw him aside causing the monster to shatter.

"No!" Kallian yelled and before anyone could react, the Dragon fired an ice blast which struck Dark Magician and destroyed him as well. Knight Commander didn't last much longer and was soon overwhelmed.

Kallian, Aedan, Daylen and Evangeline were surrounded by Warrior Duelists who summoned out more Warrior type monsters. With their best monsters already gone, Daylen, Kallian and Aedan didn't know what to do.

But then the blond haired woman stepped forward "That's enough men" she stated "I'm handling this personally." She looked at Evangeline "You remember me don't you Evangeline."

"Yeah" Evangeline replied "I remember you Commander Meredith."

"Then you know what I want." Meredith laughed "I came here personally to take it. I've already taken one and I will take the other two."

Evangeline pulled out a card from her deck and showed it which was one of the other two Ice Barrier Dragons that Teagan had given her "I'm not going to just hand this over to you. I will fight you over it."

Meredith laughed "Done" she stated "I win and that card will be mine."

"And if I win then you'll let us all go." Evangeline stated

"Agreed" he stated "It's doubtful that you'll win but even if you do, then I'll still attack Andoral's Reach and end the Spellcaster Faction."

"We'll see about that!" Evangeline hissed as she activated her Duel Disk:

" **DUEL!"**

 **Evangeline: 8000  
Meredith: 8000**

"I'll take the first move" Meredith sneered as she drew her card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Cost Down, now by discarding one card, all monsters in my hand have their levels decreased by two so now I can summon General Raiho of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A warrior with long black hair and wearing a long blue robe with a sword on his hip appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2100 Defence 2300). "And now I end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

"My turn" Evangeline stated as she drew her card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Double Summon which allows me to normal summon twice this turn. So now I summon The Six Samurai Irou in attack mode" a black armoured warrior with a long katana sword appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200). "And since I can summon another monster, I also summon the Six Samurai Kamon in attack mode." A red armoured samurai with a small bomb in his hand appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1500 Defence 1000). "And now I activate the spell card Book of moon which flips your general facedown." The general vanished as he was flipped facedown. "And now my Irou will attack that facedown monster. And I know he's weaker than your monster even in defence mode, but since I control another six samurai monster, when Irou attacks a facedown monster, it's automatically destroyed." The facedown Raiho shattered "And now I can attack you directly with Kamon" Kamon threw the grenade which exploded near Meredith.

 **Evangeline: 8000  
Meredith: 6500**

"And that will do it for my turn." Evangeline finished

Meredith narrowed her eyes as she drew her card "I play my facedown card, Call of the Haunted, now I can summon one monster in my graveyard and I choose to summon the monster I discarded with my Cost down last turn, General Gantala of the Ice Barrier." A muscular man with a fist made from ice appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2700 Defence 2000). "And I know the effect of Kamon; you can destroy my Call of the Haunted which will also destroy my Gantala so I will take care of it now. Attack with Ice Fist." General Gantala threw a power fist made from ice which struck Kamon.

 **Evangeline: 7000  
Meredith: 6500**

But Evangeline smirked "Even though you attack Kamon, he has another effect so now I can destroy Irou instead." Irou shattered instead of Kamon.

Meredith growled "Well Gantala has another effect, now I can summon Raiho to the field." General Raiho returned to the field ready to fight.

"My move" Evangeline stated as she drew her card "And I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards." Evangeline drew two cards from her deck "And now I summon the Six Samurai Nisashi in attack mode" a Samurai with a green aura appeared on the field wielding two green Katanas (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 700). "And now I play the equip spell Fusion Sword Murasame Blade which gives Nisashi an extra 800 attack points." One of Nisashi's swords changed into a purple blade (TSSN Attack 1400-2200). "And now I activate the effect of Kamon, now since I control another Six Samurai monster, I can destroy your face up Call of the Haunted trap which also destroys Gantala."

Meredith sneered "Before you do that, thanks to my Raiho's effect, you have to discard one card in your hand to activate that effect."

Evangeline sighed "So be it," she stated as she discarded one of the cards in her hand "Now your Call of the Haunted and Gantala are destroyed." Kamon threw his fire bomb which destroyed both cards. "However, Kamon cannot attack when this effect is used but since I control another Six Samurai, Nisashi can attack twice this turn, so attack that Raiho." Nisashi slashed Raiho with his Katanas which destroyed him.

 **Evangeline: 7000  
Meredith: 6400**

"Now attack her directly" Evangeline added and then Nisashi slashed Meredith which sent her falling backwards.

 **Evangeline: 7000  
Meredith: 4200**

"That will do it for my turn" Evangeline finished

Daylen cheered "Alright! Meredith has lost nearly half her life points!"

"But this duel's still not over yet" Aedan commented "We'll just have to hope that Evangeline can keep this up."

Meredith narrowed her eyes "My draw!" she hissed "And I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards." Meredith drew two cards from her deck "And now I play the spell card Tribute to the Doomed, now I can discard one card and destroy your Nisashi." Meredith discarded a card and Nisashi was dragged into the ground by a large zombie hand. "And there's more, the card I discarded was known as Soldier of the Ice Barrier and when he is discarded to the graveyard, I can special summon him." A warrior wearing armour made from ice appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1200). "And now I normal summon Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A brown skinned made wielding an ice dagger appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 1300 Defence 0). "And since Cryomancer is a tuner monster, I tune him with Soldier." Cryomancer turned into two rings which surrounded Soldier and turned him into a beam of light "With the power of water turned into ice, I awaken an ancient serpent that has been hiding for years. I Synchro summon Brionac Dragon of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A large light blue dragon that was more of a sea serpent appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2300 Defence 1400).

"That's the card you took from Teagan!" Evangeline gasped

"And you know what I can do with it?" Meredith smirked "By discarding another card in my hand, I can send Kamon back to your hand." Kamon faded as he was sent back to Evangeline's hand "And that means I can attack you directly with Brionac." Brionac sent a blast of water which threw Evangeline back who screamed in pain.

 **Evangeline: 4700  
Meredith: 4200**

"And now I will end my turn" Meredith finished "And now you're in a whole lot of trouble now."

"She's right!" Daylen gasped "Even if Evangeline summons something to protect, that Brionac will just send it back to her hand."

Evangeline drew her card and looked at it before sighing "I summon a monster facedown and end my turn."

Meredith laughed "That's it?" she questioned "Well I guess there isn't much you can do but I can once again discard a card to send that monster back to your hand." The facedown monster was sent back to Evangeline's hand "And now I can attack you directly again" Brionac sent another ice blast which threw Evangeline back again.

 **Evangeline: 2400  
Meredith: 4200**

"And I will end my turn there" Meredith finished

Aedan watched the duel is worry "If Evangeline doesn't find a way to stop that Brionac's effect then she's finished next turn if Meredith summons another monster."

"We'll just have to hope that Evangeline can find a way to turn this duel around." Kallian stated

Evangeline managed to push herself to her knees and stand up "I have to draw something good this turn, otherwise this duel is over." Evangeline drew the top card of her deck and smiled "I play Graceful Charity, now I can draw three cards as long as I discard two." Evangeline drew three cards from her deck "And I think I'll discard Kamon along with my Guardian of the Six Samurai. And when my Guardian is discarded from my hand, I can special summon him." A samurai warrior with a large shield appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 500 Defence 2000). "Now since I control a Six Samurai monster, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai in attack mode." An old man with long white hair, an eye patch on one eye and wielding a sword appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 800). "And now I summon the Six Samurai Yaichi in attack mode." A samurai warrior wielding a bow and arrow appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1300 Defence 800).

"Those monsters are useless!" Meredith sneered "They don't stand a chance against my Dragon."

"Maybe not but another Dragon might" Evangeline smirked "My Guardian is a tuner monster so I tune him with Yaichi." Guardian turned into four circles of light which surrounded Yaichi and turned him into a beam of light "Dragon made from solid ice, come and help protect those who need help "I Synchro summon Gungnir Dragon of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A blue dragon made from ice with red markings appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 1700).

"The second Ice Barrier Dragon!" Meredith gasped

"And now by discarding a card, I can destroy your Brionac." Evangeline stated and Gungnir sent a blast of water which froze Brionac in ice which then shattered. "It's over Meredith!" Evangeline stated "Both my monsters will attack you directly and you have nothing on your field that can stop me."

"My graveyard can though" Meredith stated "I discarded my Protector of the Ice Barrier on my last turn with Brionac's effect so by removing him from play, Gungnir loses 1000 attack points until the end of this turn.." Gungnir lost some of his power (GDOTIB Attack 2500-1500).

"My monsters will still attack" Evangeline hissed and Grandmaster slashed Meredith with his sword while Gungnir sent a blast of frozen breath at Meredith.

 **Evangeline: 2400  
Meredith: 600**

"And now I end my turn." Evangeline stated "Looks like I'm winning now."

Meredith glared at Evangeline "You may have won that fight and destroyed my dragon! But you will lose this duel!" she drew her card and then she laughed loudly as she looked at it which made Evangeline, Kallian, Aedan and Daylen look at her oddly "It seems that I was right, my Ice Barriers can do more and I have more powerful weapons than just my dragons such as playing the spell card "Ice Tomb fusion, now I can remove General Raiho and Gantala from my graveyard and fuse them together. "The spirits of the two Generals appeared and then they were sucked into a portal "When the followers of the Ice Barrier fall, they do their duty in the name of their Emperor, I fusion summon Jurden, Emperor of the Ice Barrier." An armoured man wearing thick armour made from ice and wielding a large sword appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 0, Defence 0) "Sure he may have no attack points but he gains attack points equal to the attack points of the two monsters used to summon him." Kallian, Aedan, Daylen and Evangeline gasped in horror as Jurdan glowed as he gained power (JEOTIB Attack: 0-4800).

"4800 Attack points!" Daylen gasped in horror

"OH NO!" Aedan gasped "Evangeline could have survived with Gungnir but not that Grandmaster. She's finished!"

"She is!" Meredith sneered "Jurden, destroy that Grandmaster and the rest of her life points!" Jurden drew his sword and charged across the field before slashing Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and there was nothing Evangeline could do to stop it. Jurden then slashed Evangeline which threw her across the ground and she fell onto her back.

 **Evangeline: 0000  
Meredith: 600 (Winner)**

Daylen, Aedan and Kallian all stared at the scene in horror "Evangeline!" Daylen yelled and then he ran over towards her. But just as he got near her, he was knocked to the ground by a large net. Aedan and Kallian turned to see the Warrior known as Karras holding a card.

Karras laughed "I don't think so lad!" he sneered and before anyone could react, two more Warrior members knocked Aedan and Kallian to the ground.

"Let go of me you bastards!" Kallian yelled in anger

"You won't get away with this!" Aedan added.

Karras laughed and he knelt down and kept a firm grip on Daylen.

Meredith walked over to Evangeline and took the Gungnir card from her deck "You won't be needing this anymore" she sneered "Now I have the second Ice Barrier Dragon."

Evangeline narrowed her eyes at Meredith "You may have beaten me Meredith, but the Spellcasters will defeat you. You cannot break their spirit; they will fight you until the end."

Meredith laughed "They will fight and they will fall as a result. Once we purge their kind from this world then we can rebuild anew. You could have been involved with us but instead you betrayed us. Now I'm only going to ask you this once, where is Thrask and where is his Resistance based?"

Evangeline spat into Meredith's eye "I don't know and even if I did, I'll never tell you. Thrask has more honour than you ever had!"

Meredith glared at her "So be it." She stated as she held her duel disk above her.

Daylen began fighting against Karras' hold but the Warrior was too strong for him "No! Stop it! Leave her alone! No!" Meredith pressed the button and a bright light was emitted from the Duel Disk which engulfed Evangeline and when it faded, Evangeline was gone and a crystal appeared in Meredith's hand. "You monster!" Daylen yelled

"You'll pay for this!" Aedan yelled

Karras sneered at Daylen "You want to join her lad?" he sneered and then looked at Meredith "Do you want me to crystallise them as well Commander?"

Meredith looked at Daylen, Aedan and Kallian but then to the surprise of everyone, she shook her head "No Karras." She stated "I sense something different about these three. Take them alive, I want them taken to Aeonar where they can join the other three strange people we found?"

'Other three' Daylen though, had the Warrior managed to capture one of the other groups that had come to help Solona but had been separated from them. That was all Daylen, Kallian and Aedan could think about as Karras and the Warriors dragged them away and threw them into a large prison cart.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes:** **I'm sorry for the long wait but this chapter was difficult to write. I had planned for Daylen, Aedan to get captured but couldn't decide between Neria or Kallian until I decided to go with Kallian and you'll see why in a few chapters time. I had wanted to keep Evangeline around but I decided to crystallise her because one of the other major characters will be using the upgraded version of Six Samurai. I'm going to be working on a chapter of Mass Wars next but I'm also planning out the next chapter of Rise of the Divines.**

 **Created Cards:**

Soldier of the Ice Barrier: Level 4, Water Attribute, Warrior Type, Attack 1500 Defence 1200. If this card is discarded from your hand, you can special summon this card to the field.

Guardian of the Six Samurai: Level 4, Earth Attribute, Warrior Type, Tuner, Attack 500 Defence 2000. If this card is discard to the graveyard from your hand, special summon it.

Jurden Emperor of the Ice Barrier: Level 10 Fusion, Water Attribute, Warrior, Attack 0 Defence 0. Fusion materials, 2 level 5 or higher Ice Barrier monsters. The attack and defence points of this card are the combined attack and defence points of the monsters used to summon this card.

Ice Tomb Fusion, Normal Spell card. Remove water attribute monsters in your graveyard from play, Fusion summon one Water Attribute fusion monster from your extra deck.


	24. The Siege of Andoral's Reach:

**The siege of Andoral's Reach:**

While Anders was leading his small group in preparation for the counterattack on the Warriors, Solona along with Neria were left at the fortress of Andoral's Reach. Neria was busy telling Solona about what had happened since they entered this strange Dimension as Solona had already told them about what happened to her.

"It was when we reunited with Kallian that we realised that something had gone wrong" Neria admitted "She told us about the portal overpowering and then we realised that this will be harder than we thought. It was also when we learnt that Alexius was right about this world being dangerous. We got caught between the two factions."

"You said that you duelled a member of the Warrior Faction?" Solona stated "What did you think of him."

"Part of me says that the Warrior Faction is being misled by Meredith." Neria admitted "This man I duelled known as Cullen was so full of anger. He blamed the Spellcasters for what happened to his home and family because of what a Rogue Spellcaster did. Meredith took advantage of that and made him a weapon. He's being used and he doesn't even realise it."

"My father taught me that anger leads being into doing things they don't want to do without realising it" Solona stated "It was one of the things he first taught us but even I'm not immune to it. Just like the time when I duelled Banner after he defeated Daylen. Sometimes even the strongest take end up falling in their anger. This is why we must be careful."

"Hopefully we can beat this incoming army and then we can finish our job here by finding the others and then we can get home." Neria said

Solona looked at bit worried "And how will we do that?" Solona asked

"Alexius said that there are places in this world where we can duel to open a portal." Neria admitted "Maybe Urthemiel and Razikale can help us with that."

"I sure hope so" Solona stated "I don't want to end up being trapped here."

It was then that the door opened and the two of them looked to see Fiona enter "Hey" she greeted "I just wanted to give the two of you an idea on what's going to happen. When the Warrior Faction, this place is going to turn into a Battle Arena. Do any of you have any idea on how this type of duelling works?"

"Not really" Solona stated "I never actually did this back at Redcliffe. Teagan told me to help Evangeline lead the people to safety."

"Well this is a different type of duelling to how it's normally done" Fiona replied and she pulled out two crystals "In a Battle Arena Duel, you use these special crystals in your duel disk. They make the monsters you summon come to life. Most of the rules are the same involving summoning and cards you draw. But attacking is different. In a Battle Arena, there is no opponent, you send your monsters against any enemy monster there is and there are no turns. You start with five cards and as you use them, you can draw more but you can only have a maximum of five cards in your hand. Also if you can, you can attack an opponent while they have no monsters but they may have monsters to defend themselves. The objective in a Battle Arena Duel is to survive until the enemy is defeated. You have 8000 life points and when that runs out, then you're out of the duel."

Solona looked at the crystal that Fiona gave her and looked a bit worried "Don't these crystals have the souls of people trapped in them?" she asked "Won't using them kill them?"

Fiona sighed "Those crystals you saw when people are sealed into crystals don't work like that. These crystals used in Arena duelling are ancient magical crystals from the time of the Dragon Faction. We don't really know where they came from. Those crystals that the Warrior Faction sealed people in are used to power their Arena Duels but they don't kill people as those crystals recharge over time. These crystals however don't recharge and when an Arena Duel is over, you keep the life points you have in the next arena duel. Once the Warrior Faction had many of these but they quickly used them all up in their first onslaught and so they had to use this alternative crystal."

Neria looked at Fiona "Will we be able to beat the Warrior Faction?" she asked

Fiona sighed "I don't want to get cocky but we have a few advantages. Most of the monsters we use have long range attacks while most of the Warriors only have a short range. But with the numbers they have, we could be overwhelmed, our monsters are like people in this type of duelling and they tire out. But the biggest threat is that Dragon that Meredith took from Teagan. It may be weak in a normal duel but it has a flying advantage which is difficult to strike."

"But we have dragons of our own." Solona smiled

"They'll be useful but remember, Meredith is very smart" Fiona stated "You'll need a dragon that is stronger than hers to take out."

"And you have those Solona" Neria stated "Your blue Eyes are some of the strongest monsters around."

"Don't get cocky Neria" Solona countered "The Warrior Faction is still very strong and we've never seen their full strength. The only senior member I duelled was Rylock and we still have no idea on how strong they are with Synchro and XYZ."

"Hopefully we can learn these summoning methods ourselves" Neria stated

"The spellcasters and I can help you learn just as soon as we've taken out the approaching Warrior Army" Fiona stated.

Then someone knocked at the door and the three of them turned around to see Alain standing in the doorway "I'm sorry for interrupting but we have a problem" he stated

"What kind of a problem?" Fiona asked

"It's best that you all see for yourself." Alain admitted and he left the room with Fiona, Solona and Neria following him.

...

They soon arrived at the courtyard and to their shock, they saw Anders who had meant to be leading the vanguard kneeling down and he seemed out of breath. Anders looked at Fiona and made a deep breath "Commander Fiona, I'm sorry to report that I have some very bad news." He stated

"What do you mean Anders?" Fiona demanded "What happened, you were supposed to be leading the vanguard."

"The Vanguard was ambushed" Anders stated "It was a trap, the Warriors came at us in extreme force, and we were unable to withstand the full attack. Most of the Vanguard was defeated."

"What about Evangeline and my friends?" Solona demanded "My brother was with you."

Anders sighed "Evangeline told me to get back here to warn you. The Warriors are stronger than we thought. She along with your friends were fine when they told me to, they said they would hold them off while I got back here."

Solona then stood up and began walking to the gate "Where are you going Solona?" Neria demanded

Solona turned around and looked at her "My brother along with Aedan Evangeline and Kallian are in danger. They helped me before so I have to help them."

"You'll never get to them in time!" Fiona shouted "By the time you get to where the Vanguard was they'd most likely been defeated. If you're lucky Meredith may have just captured them instead of crystallising them, but don't get your hopes up."

"Without the Vanguard, this battle is going to be even more difficult now" Neria added "We're going to need you here Solona, your dragons may be the key to winning this fight."

Fiona nodded "After this battle is over, we'll help you save your friends."

Solona sighed but she knew that they were right; going against the Warrior Faction alone was foolish so she looked at Fiona "I'll be on the Battlements waiting."

...

Further North of Andoral's Reach, Dr Crowler, Sereda and Zane carried on walking down the path. The desert had changed into a mountain path but it still made Crowler annoyed "First we had to travel across a hot desert and now we have to climb up a mountain!" he groaned "Is this ever going to end?"

Sereda sighed "I remember hearing the people in Wycome talk that over the mountains is the Spellcaster Faction." She stated "Maybe we can find a place to stay when we get over there."

"Well we're not going to get anywhere just standing here" Zane stated "Let's get moving" and then the three of them started their walk over the mountain in hopes of finding a place where they can stay and find more information on Solona or the rest of the group.

...

Solona and Neria stood on the Battlements of Andoral's Reach alongside Fiona and watched as the Warrior Army arrived. Solona had never seen such a large army as Solona saw many Warrior Faction soldiers with their duel disks activated and they had their own monsters summoned to make the army look bigger. Solona saw some Warrior monsters that Kallian used such as Marauding Captain and Command Knight as well as many other Warriors. Solona watched as three people came forward, one was a woman and the other two were men. The woman had long blond hair and a mad look in her eyes, one of the men had a bald head and a thick grey beard while the other had light brown hair.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona!" The woman called out "You and your Spellcaster people are to surrender imminently and face punishment for the crimes you have committed against this world."

"The Crimes we committed?" Fiona hissed "How about the crimes your people have committed Meredith? It was not us who started this war, it was you! You have no right to start ordering us to surrender!"

"I have every right!" Meredith snarled "You Spellcasters are plotting to take over this world; I intend to save this world from your kind."

Fiona laughed "Save this world, from what I've seen, your people are the true threat to us all. You've hurt so many innocent people when you raided the towns in the Bufferlands. They didn't even use Spellcasters."

"Those people stood against us!" Meredith snapped "They needed to be taught a lesson."

Fiona narrowed her eyes "You're just making excuses!" she snapped "Go back to your army Meredith; this battle will be in vain for you."

Meredith smirked "Well it seems I have something that will make some of you lose hope." She turned and looked at the bald man "Alrik, bring the prisoners here."

The man known as Alrik left and a short while later, he returned with a few other Warriors dragging three people along.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" a voice growled.

Up on the battlements, Neria and Solona gasped and widened their eyes when they heard the voice. Solona knew who it was and looked to see Alrik dragging her brother Daylen along. Aedan and Kallian were with him being held by two other warriors, one of which Neria recognised as Cullen who was holding Kallian. Solona ended up being the one to shout "Daylen!"

Meredith smirked and looked directly at Solona "I take it you know these people well?" she questioned "Well luckily for you, I won't turn them into crystals as I have better use for them." She then looked at Solona a bit more "And you seem familiar to me." Then she remembered "Ah I remember, I've never met you but some of my men did. They told me about your dragons and how you were able to beat them in one turn. You were also the one who defeated Rylock; well she paid the price for her repeated failures."

Solona then knew what she meant "So you carded one of your own top men?" he questioned

"Failure has no place in the Warrior Faction" Meredith smirked "And I guess you're the other person Teagan gave the last Ice Barrier Dragon to."

Solona narrowed her eyes and pulled the card that Teagan had given her from her deck that was on her belt "You mean this, after what you've done, you don't deserve this card."

Meredith smirked "Well soon it will belong to me and the Spellcaster Faction will fall. When the day is out, the Warriors will be victorious, prepare for battle." Meredith, Alrik, Cullen and Karras took their prisoners back to the rest of their army and Solona knew that the battle was starting now.

...

Meredith rode back to her Warriors and looked at some of them "Tavish, Take the prisoners to the back carts. Then I want you to escort them to Aeonar Prison. I'll have them interrogated later to see what they know."

"As you command Commander Meredith." Tavish stated and he along with two other Warriors grabbed hold of Aedan, Kallian and Daylen and took them to a prison cart and then the three of them left the army to head to Aeonar prison.

When they were gone, Cullen looked at Meredith "So this is it then." He stated "Once we win, this war will be over and the biggest threat to this world will have been dealt with."

"And we can work towards peace." Meredith added "Alrik, I want you to lead the army attacking on the left, Karras, you and Cullen will lead the army on the right. I'll lead the central army. But there is one thing, that girl who has the dragons, I want her alive, I'll deal with her myself."

"As you Command Meredith." Alrik stated and then he along with Cullen and Karras rode off towards the parts of the army they would be leading.

With all of the army in position, Meredith turned around to address them "Today, is the beginning of the end to an order that spreads disorder throughout this world." She spoke "But we are the Warrior Faction, an order that acts upon our strength to keep order. And while we were keeping order in our territory, the people of the Spellcaster Faction were plotting and performing dark experiments left over from the days of the Fiend and Zombie Faction. The Warriors wiped those factions and we will do the same. The army gathered here is the biggest ever seen." Now she began raising her voice "This fierce army will bring an end to the Spellcaster army gathered here at Andoral's Reach. And when we crush this place, all the remaining lands will bow to Warrior Faction and they will remember this, as the last day of the Spellcaster!" All of the Warriors cheered in response "And now, summon your monsters."

"Come on out, Noble Knights Drystan and Borz!" Alrik yelled and then two Warriors appeared on the field, one wielding a harp (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800) and the other with a large goblet (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 900).

"I summon Satellarknight Unukalhai to the field" Cullen stated as a knight appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1000). "And with her effect, I send Vega to the graveyard, now I summon Altair to the field." (Level 4 Attack 1700 defence 1300). "And with his effect, I resurrect Vega and use Vega's effect to summon Betelgeuse" two more Satellarknights appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1600) (Level 4 Attack 700 Defence 1900).

Meredith smirked as her Warriors summoned their monsters "And I'll summon my Pilgrim and defender of the Ice Barrier." A Pilgrim and small hound appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1000) (Level 3 Attack 200 Defence 1600). "Let's see how you handle this Fiona."

...

On the walls of Andoral's Reach, Fiona watched as the Warriors summoned their monsters and now they would attack the fortress "Spellcasters!" she called out "The Warriors seek to conquer all. This fortress is all that stands in the way of their conquest of this world. If we fail here then the Warriors will take over this entire world. But we're not going to let that happen. Now they're fighting on our turf, use you're Spells and ready our traps, it's time for us to show the Warriors how we fight here."

The Spellcasters all cheered and they began to summon out their monsters. Fiona activated her duel disk "I summon Shaddoll Dragon and Shaddoll Hound in attack mode" a black and purple puppet dragon and Hound appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1900 Defence 0) (Level 4 Attack 1600 Defence 900).

Other members of the Spellcaster Faction began to do the same and Solona saw some familiar monsters such as Skilled Black Magician, Blast Magician and Breaker the Magical Warrior. Then the monsters began to fire at the Warrior's army of monsters and Solona watched as magical blasts impacted some of the Warrior monsters and destroyed them.

Neria saw an old face which was Cullen and he had summoned four monsters so Neria knew that she needed to do something and so she began her move in Battle Duelling "I summon Jain Lightsworn Paladin and Lyla Lightsworn Sorcerer in attack mode." Neria's white haired warrior and black haired sorcerer appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200) (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 200) "Now Jain, Lyla, tale out Vega and Betelgeuse." Jain jumped into the air and swooped down and struck Vega with her sword while Lyla sent a beam of light which struck Betelgeuse and both monsters were destroyed.

But now Jain was trapped on the battlefield with the Warriors. And Cullen was smirking "So the strange girl who I met before challenges me again?" he said to himself "Well let's see how well you handle this; I overlay Unukalhai and Altair to build the overlay network. When light becomes dark, a new and powerful knight will ride throughout the night. I XYZ summon Darktellarknight Batlamyus in attack mode" a black knight made up of different parts of the Satellarknights appeared on the field (Rank 4 Attack 2600 Defence 550). "Now take out that Warrior the girl summoned." Batlamyus drew a powerful sword and then slashed Jain who screamed before shattering.

Up on the balcony of Andoral's Reach, Neria screamed in pain and then she collapsed "Neria!" Solona yelled and ran over to her friend "What happened?"

Neria groaned "Jain was destroyed and I felt it!" she stated "This is like a Shadow Game; we feel pain when our monsters get destroyed. These people are use to it so they don't feel it like we do."

Solona looked at the battlefield, the Spellcasters had an advantage where their monsters could strike from a distance but the Warriors still had the numbers and they were powering up their monsters at the last minute to throw the attacks back at the Spellcasters. Solona watched as a Magician of Black Chaos was destroyed after its attack got reflected back and the explosion threw several Spellcasters off the wall. Solona narrowed her eyes and started her move "First I play Dragon's Shrine, now I can send two Blue Eyes to the grave. And by activating Dark Factory of Mass Production, those cards return to my hand." Solona's Blue Eyes returned to her hand "And now with Polymerization, I can fuse them together." Everyone on the battlefield watched in shock as two large dragons appeared on the field and were then sucked into a portal. "Now I fusion summon, Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon in attack mode." A large two headed blue dragon appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2500).

The Warriors looked at the mighty two headed dragon in shock and then Twin Burst sent a blast of blue fire and began attacking the opponent's monsters.

"How are we suppose to beat that!" one Warrior asked "That monster is much more powerful than what we have. That thing will decimate us."

Karras who was in charge of that soldier suddenly appeared and struck the man with hi s duel disk "There is no such thing as no chance!" he snapped "You've just got to be ready like I was." He stared at his duel disk where he had a trap waiting.

Solona watched as her Twin Burst attacked the Warrior army's monsters all over. The Spellcasters were also watching in happiness as Solona's dragon was making the Warrior's army start collapsing. But then there was a bright flash which made Solona cover her eyes. When she reopened them, she stared at Twin Burst and gasped, wrapped around the dragon was metal wheel around the necks of the heads and the wheel was covered in spikes.

"It's Nightmare Wheel!" Fiona gasped "Now your monster can't attack!"

Neria smirked "Well it's a good job my Lyla has an effect" she stated "Destroy that Trap card." Lyla aimed her staff at Twin Burst. But just as she was about to fire, Neria screamed in pain and fell to her knees. Solona gasped and looked at Lyla to see that she had an arrow in her chest. The Lightsworn Sorcerer collapsed and shattered.

Solona looked onto the field and saw the monster that had fired the arrow. It was Amazoness Archer, now that monster wasn't strong enough to defeat Lyla alone but she also saw the spell card Amazoness Fighting Spirit which gave the archer and extra 1000 attack points when she attacked Lyla. She then ran over to Neria. "Are you alright?" she asked

Neria groaned and then watched as the battle went on "Solona, if we don't do something soon, the Warriors will gain the upper hand."

Solona looked at her deck "Maybe I can free my dragon myself" she stated and then she drew another card and smirked "I play Diffusion, now my dragon separates back into the two Blue Eyes which means Nightmare wheel is destroyed." The two headed dragon broke three from the wheel and the heads separated to form two dragons (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2800). "Now attack the enemy" she ordered and both Blue Eyes began to fire blasts upon the battlefield.

Nearby, Meredith stared at the two headed dragon as it split. Those dragons could do some serious damage to her army, but she had an idea on how to deal with it. "This is it, I tune my Defender with my Pilgrim" she shouted and the Defender turned into three rings of light which surrounded the Pilgrim "Dragon made from solid ice, come and help protect my army, I Synchro summon Gungnir Dragon of the Ice Barrier." A large dragon made from solid ice with red markings appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 1700). "Now do your thing Gungnir!" she ordered and Gungnir roared in response.

Solona smiled as her Dragons began giving the Spellcasters the upper hand again. But then she watched as an ice blast struck her two dragons and froze them solid. Then the ice statues exploded. Solona looked and gasped when she saw Gungnir, which was the card that Teagan had given Evangeline and now it was being used against them.

Meredith smirked as the two dragons exploded, then she decided that she needed to make the situation even worse "Now strike the enemy Gungnir!" she ordered and Gungnir began attacking the enemy Spellcasters on the walls. The Spellcasters were losing the battle now and the Warriors were stepping up their monsters. Alrik summoned his Sacred Knight of King Artorigus and Artorigus King of the Noble Knights. Cullen had summoned his Satellarknights Delteros and Triverr and Amazoness Empress was now on the field as well so now the Warriors had several powerful monsters that was smashing the Spellcasters monsters apart.

Fiona had been able to summon out her powerful El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis and El Shaddoll Construct but both ended up being destroyed, Construct by a blast from Gungnir after Meredith activated her Ice Barrier Heart equip spell which gave Gungnir an extra 500 attack points and Anoyatyllis by a shot from Amazoness Queen. Now Fiona had lost some of her best monsters and had ordered the Spellcasters to fall back into the main keep when Gungnir blew a hole in the wall which allowed the Warriors to start pulling in."

"We're getting swarmed!" Neria yelled who now had Garoth Lightsworn Warrior and Celestia Lightsworn Angel on her field along with Wulf Lightsworn Beast who were currently fending off some of the smaller Warrior monsters until Garoth was destroyed in a fight against Alrik's Sacred Knight. "What are we going to do?"

"Get inside the Keep!" Fiona yelled "We might be able to hold them off in there."

Solona looked at the two Ice Barrier Dragons and she had an idea and then she looked at her hand where she saw one of the cards in her hand, it was Maiden with eyes of blue, the card had started glowing and she saw extra text on the card which called it a tuner monster now. On her field, she had her Alexandrite Dragon and Luster Dragon. Then she realised one of the cards she had and now she could summon it thanks to Maiden "Wait, I have an idea" she stated "I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue to the field." The blue haired girl in the brown dress appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 0 Defence 0). "And now I tune her with my two dragons." Maiden turned into a ring of light which surrounded Alexandrite and Luster Dragon and created a beam of light. "When the power of dragons is combined with a great power, they create an almighty Beast. I Synchro summon Trishula Dragon of the Ice Barrier in attack mode." A three headed white dragon appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 2700 Defence 2000). "And now I can use her effect to banish that Gungnir" Trishula sent out an ice blast which engulfed Gungnir and caused the Ice Barrier Dragon to fade away. "Now let's do this" Solona added and Trishula took off into the air and just like her Blue Eyes, Trishula began to attack the Warrior army and took out Alrik's Sacred Knight and Cullen's Delteros.

The Battle seemed to be turning in favour of the Spellcasters again which Meredith and Alrik noticed when Alrik's King Artorigus was destroyed by Neria's Celestia. "The Spellcasters are gaining the Upper hand again, that Dragon is causing chaos for us." Alrik stated

Meredith glared at Trishula "That's the last dragon that rightfully belongs to me!" she shouted "I won't let it be used to destroy us." She looked at her hand and smirked "I summon Samurai and Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier and then I'll tune Cryomancer with Samurai." Cryomancer turned into two rings which surrounded Samurai and created another beam of light "Now I Synchro summon Brionac Dragon of the Ice Barrier." The Sea Serpent Ice Barrier Dragon appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2300 Defence 1400). "She may be weaker in attack points but just like Gungnir did, her effect will take out that Dragon."

Solona saw Brionac and gasped as she remembered seeing her effect when Teagan had shown her the card. Her fears were correct as Brionac sent an ice blast which blasted Trishula off the field. With Trishula gone, the Warriors gained the upper hand and Solona watched as Neria's Wulf and Celestia were then destroyed by Amazoness Queen. Neria collapsed in pain in Solona's arms.

"Get inside!" Fiona yelled and she ran over and helped Solona get Neria into the keep. When the Warriors began to close in, the doors were closed leaving some of the Spellcasters outside. Some banged on the door begging to be let inside while others accepted their fate and began to turn towards the Warriors waiting to make a last stand.

...

Meredith smirked as she entered through the broken walls of Andoral's Reach. She watched as most of the Spellcasters made their way inside the main keep and was forced to abandon some of them outside. The Warriors quickly advanced on these Spellcasters and quickly destroyed their monsters and knocked them to the ground where they were turned into crystals. Meredith turned to Alrik "Now Alrik, it's time to finish this, prepare to break down that door."

"Understood Commander" Alrik sneered "I'm looking forward to ending this."

He then walked forward and several powerful Warrior Type monsters such as Gearfried the Swordmaster, Freed the Masterful General and Gilford the Lightning appeared on the field and began banging their swords against the wooden door of the main keep.

...

Inside the Keep, Solona and Fiona placed Neria down on a chair and Solona looked around at the Spellcasters who had gathered in the main keep. A large number of the Spellcasters were in the Keep including Alain and Anders. Fiona walked over to Anders "What's the situation?" she asked him.

"Not good" Anders replied "We're trapped here now; the old escape tunnel is caved in so there's no way we can escape that way. I hate to say this, but I have no idea on how we're going to survive."

Fiona sighed "I have to admit, even I'm thinking that."

"Wait!" Solona stated "You're not just going to give up are you?"

"I never said I was going to give up." Fiona stated "I never wanted to do this but I can't see how we can win this. So the only option is to make a last stand."

Solona looked at her hand to see if there was anything she could do to help. She gasped at what she saw. "Hey Neria" she called "Do you think this would help."

Neria gasped at the card Solona showed her, it was Urthemiel Old God of Beauty. "That could help, in fact it could help win this fight, it's more powerful than any monster the Warriors have. But how are you going to summon her, she needs three sacrifices?"

"I can handle that." Solona stated "I summon Keeper of the Shrine and with Monster Reborn, I bring back Alexandrite." Solona's Alexandrite and the dragon like priest appeared on the field. "I can win this battle but you're going to have to let me go outside."

Fiona gasped "Those Warriors are banging on the doors!" she hissed "If we open those doors they'll storm in."

Anders knew that this may be their only hope of survival "I can handle that" he stated "I'll take out those monsters, as soon as you hear the explosion, then open the doors" he looked at Solona "You better be right about this otherwise we're all finished." He then went up a set of stairs while Solona stood by the door waiting for them to open with her Urthemiel card in her hand.

...

Outside the main keep, the Warrior army cheered as their strong monsters banged against the door of the main keep. Meredith stood next to Alrik who had summoned his Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn. Meredith smirked "It won't be long now" she stated

"Aye" Alrik agreed "Soon the Fortress will fall and we will finish them off."

But the cheering was short lived as a huge lightning storm suddenly engulfed the field and a lightning strike destroyed the monsters banging on the Keep door. Meredith looked up to see Anders standing there having just activated Lightning Vortex. "Brionac, attack that Spellcaster!" she ordered but then as Brionac prepared to fire an ice blast, the Keep doors opened.

Solona walked out with her eyes narrowed and her duel disk ready. When she was outside she saw the Warriors staring at her in shock and wondering what she was about to do. When Alexandrite and Keeper were with her, it was time to put her plan into action "I sacrifice my Alexandrite and my Keeper which counts as three sacrifices altogether." Alexandrite and Keeper turned into glowing orbs which began to expand "With the power of three Dragons, I'll create a powerful beast that will end this fight, come on out, Urthemiel, Old God of Beauty." The orb took the form of Solona's massive dragon and it was indeed massive, the dragon was so large that is cast a shadow over the whole battlefield and the Warriors were staring at the monster in shock. "Now Urthemiel, end this." Urthemiel obeyed ordered and began firing blasts of purple fire at the Warrior army and quickly destroyed Brionac and Ignoble Knight. Other Warriors tried to summon their own monsters but they were nothing compared to Urthemiel.

Meredith stared in shock as the massive dragon quickly began taking over the whole battlefield. She had never in her whole life had seen a monster this powerful before, this dragon was destroying her army. Warrior monsters all over the battlefield were being destroyed and the blasts were throwing the duellists around. Alrik and Karras looked at Meredith "Commander, what are we going to do?" they requested "How are we going to take out that dragon, it's the strongest beast I've seen?"

Meredith looked at the Dragon which was now overwhelming her army. She now knew that there was only one option and she hated it. She had been so close to ending this war but now thanks to that dragon and its owner, the Spellcasters had won this fight. "Sound the retreat" she said reluctantly "We cannot fight that beast, we'll have to find some way to defeat it. And I have an idea on who might have an idea." She looked at Alrik "I want you to go to Aeonar and interrogate the prisoners there about this dragon. We have to find a way to beat it."

"Understood Commander" Alrik stated "Now let's get out of here before that dragon finishes us off."

One by one, the Warrior Faction duellists ran from the field and out of the fortress and soon the army was out of the keep.

...

Solona smiled as the rest of the Warrior army made their way out of Andoral's Reach. With the battle now officially over, Solona called back Urthemiel and deactivated her duel disk. Then the Keep doors opened and Fiona, Anders, Neria and the rest of the Spellcasters made their way out. Then there was cheering as they had won the battle.

"It is over" Fiona smiled "We have won."

Neria walked over to Solona "You did it Solona" she said to her "We've beaten the Warrior Faction."

"We have" Solona smiled "And now I know our next step, they've taken Daylen, Aedan and Kallian somewhere and our next step will be to find them."

Solona looked upon the horizon as the Warrior army fled away from Andoral's Reach. Solona knew that their mission here had now gotten more dangerous but there was no way that they were leaving anyone behind. Friends and family stick with each other and that's what they would do. "Hold on Daylen" Solona said to herself "I'll come for you and I'll rescue you just like you did for me."

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: I'm sorry for the long wait but this chapter was much harder to write than I thought and I'm not going to write one like this again. To think about how Arena Duelling works, think about the fight against the Duel Ghouls before Jaden duelled Marcel in Season 3 or the invasion of XYZ Dimension in ARC V. One more thing, I won't be working on my Fanfiction stories for a while as I plan to concentrate on my novels for a while as I feel like I've been neglecting them although I do have a chapter of Rise of the Divines in the works which I will still be working on but don't expect a chapter on this story or Mass Wars for a while.**


	25. The Ancient Temple Part 1:

**The Ancient Temple Part 1:**

The Spellcaster Faction at Andoral's Reach were celebrating. They had successfully managed to defeat an attack by the Warrior Faction and now they had shown the world that the Warrior Faction could be defeated. Grand Mage Fiona hoped that this could be used to encourage some of the remaining factions in the Bufferlands to join them and stop the Warrior Faction. But Fiona only knew that it was only a matter of time before the Warrior Faction regained their strength and attacked.

Fiona was also looking for someone. She was looking for the person who had saved the Spellcaster Faction from crumbling. The girl called Solona Amell. She and her powerful Dragon had been able to defeat the Meredith's Ice Barrier Dragon along with the other powerful Warrior monsters. Fiona was hoping that she could convince Solona to help lead them against the Warrior Faction as her powerful Dragons might be needed again. She soon found the girl she was looking for standing nearby talking with her friend who Fiona remembered as Neria.

Neria and Solona were looking for each other "So what do we do now Solona?" she asked

"Well we have to rescue my brother and our friends from the Warrior Faction" Solona stated as a fact "But the problem is that we don't know where they have taken them."

Fiona then came over "I know where they have taken your friends." She stated "The Warriors will have taken then towards an old prison called Aeonar. That is where they hold very important prisoners from when this war started."

"Do you know where this Aeonar is?" Solona asked

"I know where it is due to maps" Fiona replied "But it's deep in Warrior Territory, there's no way you can get there. We can't go that far into Warrior Territory and even if the two of you go in alone, that place is heavily guarded."

"Do you think you can build an army to attack the Warriors?" Solona asked "It will only be a matter of time before they return."

"I'll be able to raise more people after our victory here as his battle was a propaganda victory for us as well as a military victory" Fiona stated "But there is no way we can get into the Warrior territory alone. At least not without help. We never would have even won this battle if it wasn't for you."

Neria looked at Solona "Maybe the people of the Bufferlands can help." She suggested "They hate the Warrior faction for what they've done."

"But they don't like the Spellcasters either" Fiona stated "Rogue groups of spellcasters attacked the Bufferlands as well. They won't just agree to join us."

"Maybe we can convince them to fight" Solona stated "We have to try something because if we don't then we'll never get our friends back."

They were then interrupted by Alain "Grand Mage!" he called "We've spotted a small group approaching the fort."

"The Warriors are already back?" Fiona questioned

Alain shook his head "No, the group only has three people and they don't look so great. One seems tired and one of them has bluish hair, I've never seen anything like it."

Solona and Neria looked at each other "What did the other two people other than the blue haired person look like?" Neria asked

Alain thought for a moment on how to describe them "One of the others is a very short woman while one looked like a girl, but I can now tell is a man."

Solona widened her eyes as those descriptions seem familiar "Take me to them" she stated, "I have to see who they are."

"And who do you think they are?" Fiona demanded

Neria smirked "Friends of ours." She stated

…

Crowler, Zane and Sereda gasped in relief when they saw a small fortress nearby. They had been travelling for miles and they were looking forward to finally having a proper place to stay and come up with their next plan. "Do you think that whoever lives in this fortress is friendly?" Sereda asked

"We'll just have to hope so" Zane stated "Because if they're not then we may have to get out of here in a hurry."

As they approached the fortress, they saw that the fortress has been battle and almost looked like a ruin "Are you sure someone lives here?" Crowler questioned "This place is a dump."

Sereda looked around "This place has seen battle recently." She stated "We better be careful because the people here might be suspicious if there has been a battle recently."

Zane then watched as a few people appeared on the walls of the castle and one woman with long black hair looked at them before gasping "That is them" she stated "Let them in, I have to see them."

Zane widened his eyes when he heard the voice "Wait, that voice sounds familiar." He stated

Sereda agreed "That sounded like Solona."

"Solona!" Crowler gasped "Then we've found her then."

The doors opened and Zane saw Solona running down a set of stairs but he also saw a blond haired girl standing in the courtyard which they recognized as well "Neria as well!"

Solona and Neria smiled at the them while another woman came over "So who are these people?" she asked

Solona looked at her "Fiona, these are our friends, Sereda Aeducan, Zane Truesdale and Vellian Crowler."

Crowler would have normally gotten annoyed at not being called by his title of doctor but he didn't say anything as it would make his sound weird here.

"Any friends of our heroes are welcome here" Fiona stated

Zane nodded and looked at Solona "So how have you been?" he asked

"Not the best" Solona replied "This place is a nightmare, two factions of duellists are fighting each other for control. We only just managed to survive an attack by the enemy faction here."

"Then the best thing to do is to reunite with the rest of us and then get out of here" Crowler stated

"I agree" Neria stated "But we have a little problem."

"What's the problem?" Sereda asked

"It was not just us two here" Solona stated "Daylen, Aedan and Kallian were here as well. But they've been captured."

"Captured?" Crowler gasped "They were some of my best students. We must get them back!"

"That's the problem" Solona sighed "They've probably been taken to a prison deep in the Warrior Faction's territory. I don't know how we can get there; there are more types of summoning here that we don't even know that this world does know."

"You mean XYZ summoning?" Sereda questioned "We ran into that Servis fellow who beat Crowler using that method."

"This new summoning method is hard for us to understand" Neria stated "I've faced it as well and lost, we may not be so lucky next time."

Fiona then had a thought "There is a place that might be able to help you with understanding these summoning methods. Not far from here is an old temple dedicated to an Ancient God known as Andoral. This temple may have ways of teaching you to use these other summoning techniques."

Solona remembered that Andoral was another was of the Old God cards but she also remembered that Andoral was already in the hands of the Elder One. "But what if this temple has already been ransacked?" she questioned

"I doubt it" Fiona stated "I sent some of my people there recently before you arrived but in order to gain access, you have to pass a test by duelling but none of them have been able to pass the test."

Solona looked at Neria, Sereda, Crowler and Zane "What do you guys think of this?" she asked

"Well I know that we cannot waste time" Crowler stated

"But we'll never be able to rescue our friends without more knowledge." Sereda added

"So, it's best that we get this knowledge if we can" Zane claimed

"So the best option is to go to this temple and gain this knowledge" Neria finished

Solona nodded "Then we'll go to this temple and hopefully we can pass this test and gain access to the new summoning methods." She looked at Fiona "Where is this temple?" she added

Fiona brought over a map and pointed at where Andoral's Reach was marked on the map "If you take the road which takes you further into Spellcaster Territory and travel down the road which leads you into a T-Junction, turn right which takes you through a small mountain road and Andoral's Temple is located along that road, you'll find it easily as the Temple looks like an old temple, you'll know it when you see it."

"Thanks for that information" Solona stated "Now we should hurry, the longer we wait then the more danger our friends will be in." and then she along with her friends left Andoral's Reach to try and find the Temple.

…

Far away from Andoral's Reach, the Warrior Faction was making their way back to their territory but all was not well among their leaders.

"We were so close!" Meredith snapped "We were so close to destroying those Spellcaster fools and they were able to survive thanks to that Dragon!"

"But we've crippled their forces." Karras tried to reason "They're not much of a threat now."

"Not much of a threat?" Meredith questioned as she turned around to glare at Karras "Not much of a threat? This was a moral and propaganda victory for them. Now that they've beaten us, they could start to encourage the Bufferlands states that we've conquered to rise up against us. We cannot let that happen. Karras, I'm sending you to Redcliffe, it's a strategic location and we need to hold it to prevent an attack on our territory."

"What about me Commander?" Alrik asked

"I'm sending you with the prisoners to Aeonar" Meredith stated "I want you to question them as well as the other strange prisoners as to that girl who had the Dragon deck. We have to find a way to counter it; she is as much of a threat to us as the Spellcasters are."

"Understood Commander!" Alrik stated.

…

It had taken a while for Solona, Crowler, Zane, Sereda and Neria to arrive at the Temple which Fiona had told them about. The Temple had been built into the mountains and it looked like the Temple had been built in the remains of an old abandoned mine as there were many small mine entrances that were boarded up and the walls surrounding the temple looked as though they had been dug by using pickaxes.

"This place feels haunted" Neria stated

"If this place was an old mine then the work would have been done by Slaves" Solona stated "Andoral was the Old God of Slaves so it would make sense to have her temple where Slavery was used a lot."

"That's totally Barbaric" Sereda hissed "I can't believe that people were used as property."

"That was a long time ago in this world" Solona stated "But we can't argue about the past, let's find this temple and see if we can find anything that can help us and then get out of here."

Zane looked at her "You said that this Temple was for Andoral" he stated "I thought the Venatori already had that card, how do we know that this temple has no already been looted?"

"Fiona stated that there are guardians here who grant people rewards" Solona stated "We may have to defeat them in a duel and we'll win rewards."

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go inside" Crowler stated and then they all entered the Temple.

…

The Temple was pitch black and so Solona had to light a few flame torches which were old fashioned in their world. Normally they would use a flashlight but they didn't have any so they had to use an old type of torch instead. There were carvings on the walls which showed a dragon forcing people to kneel before him.

"The carvings look like they tell the tale of Andoral" Solona stated "They show Andoral enslaving the population of the land." Another carving showed Andoral leading an army in chains against a large demon horde before being slaughtered "I think this must tell the tale that Andoral led a slave army against the Fiend and Zombie Faction, but the army was destroyed. This is interesting but not very helpful."

Neria then found a not on the ground and looked at it before gasping "Hey Solona, you better take a look at this" she handed the note to Solona.

Solona then read the note out aloud "Thanks to the findings of Lucanus, I am sure that the location of the Old God Card lies inside the old mines beyond the Spellcaster Faction's fortress of Andoral's Reach. Go forth Calpernia and find the card in the name of the Elder One. Signed Livius Erimond." She looked at the others "It seems that the Venatori sent Calpernia here to recover the Old God card."

"We know that the Venatori already has that card but why would she leave this note behind?" Zane questioned

"She may have dropped it and forgotten about it" Crowler stated

"We should carry on and hopefully we can find the main chamber of this Temple." Solona stated and then they carried on forward through the old corridor but instead of finding a large room, they instead found a small square room that looked like a dead end.

"This can't be the end?" Neria stated "Maybe there's a secret passage. This trip can't have been for nothing."

"I sure hope not!" Solona growled "If it is then we've wasted time and my brother will be in even more danger!"

Zane gasped when he heard a crash and he turned around to see that a solid stone door had blocked their way back "Well, it seems that we've walked into a trap, we're not going back that way." Then there was another noise and Zane looked up to see a section of wall came crashing down and cutting the room into two pieces and separating the group. Zane was with Crowler while Solona, Neria and Sereda were on the other side.

"Are you two alright?" Solona called from the other side.

"We're find" Crowler called and then there was another rumble "Oh what now?"

This time, something good happened as the area that had been blocked before opened to reveal another passage. Zane called out to Solona "Hey, a new passageway just opened on our side."

"One did on our side as well" Sereda called

"I guess we'll have to travel down our passageways and hope we can unite at a different area." Solona stated

"We'll do that" Zane called "Good luck, we might need it."

Then Solona, Sereda and Neria began walking down their passageway while Crowler and Zane walked down theirs.

...

Crowler and Zane soon arrived at a large chamber "I sure hope that this isn't another trap." Crowler stated

"I sure hope so too" Zane stated "We have to find a way to the others."

There was one problem though, the room was pitch black and the only light came from the torch that Zane was holding. But that was quickly sorted out as when they entered the room, suddenly, the walls came to light when a number of torches along them lit up which illuminated the room. Crowler and Zane were on edge as this could just be another trap.

After a minute of silence, both Crowler and Zane let out a sigh of relief as nothing had happened yet so they looked around the room. Despite the room being large, there was no sign of an exit and it looked like another dead end. However there was one thing that caught their interest, it was a large chest at the back on the room.

"I wonder what's in that chest?" Crowler questioned as he walked towards it.

"Keep back!" Zane shouted "That could just be another trap!"

Crowler stopped in his tracks, Zane was right and he had enough of traps. But before he could say anything, there was a bright flash which made both of them cover their eyes. When the light cleared, they saw someone standing in front of the chest. He looked very old as he had wrinkled skin and he wore a set of really ancient armour.

"I am one of the Guardians of this Temple!" he spoke in a deep voice "Who are you to enter this ancient place."

Zane was the one who replied "Look, we don't want any trouble." He stated "We just came here looking for something that can help us rescue our captured friends but we were separated from our companions."

The Guardian looked at them "For many years after the fall of the Dragon Faction, we guardians swore that the ancient cards of this temple would only fall into the hands of those who proved themselves worthy. Pass my test and you shall be granted gifts of newly created cards for your decks."

"And what happens if we lose?" Crowler asked

"Then you will be expelled from this temple with nothing." The Guardian replied "And don't worry about your friends, they too will have a test of their own."

"And what test is it we have to pass?" Zane asked. The man in reply held a duel monsters deck "A duel?" Zane questioned "Very well but who will duel you first?"

"Neither" the Guardian stated "I will duel you both at the same time."

"A two of one duel?" Zane questioned

"Aye" the Guardian stated

"If that's what he wants then that's how we'll duel" Crowler stated as he prepared his duel vest while Zane activated his own duel disk. The Guardian activated his own disk which looked like it was built into his armour.

"DUEL!"

 **Crowler: 8000  
Zane: 8000  
Guardian: 16000**

"Since this is my temple, I'll go first." The Guardian stated "And then you'll both go one after the other before it goes back to me. Because of that, none of us can attack on our first turn and I draw two cards each turn." He then drew two cards from his deck. "I'll start my move by activating the effect of my Galaxy Soldier in my hand, now by discarding one light attribute monster in my hand, I can special summon him in defence mode." A green and white armoured man with strong fists appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2000 Defence 0). And my turn's not over because I can summon this, Galaxy Knight." A white armoured warrior with a sword appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2600).

"Wait, that's a level 8 monster" Crowler cried out "You need to sacrifice two monsters to summon him!"

The Guardian smirked "That would be true but when I control a Galaxy monster, I don't need to sacrifice monsters to summon my Knight. However he does lose 1000 attack points until the end of this turn." The Knight lost some of his colour (GK Attack 2800-1800). "But now I can special summon a certain monster from my graveyard called Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon in defence mode."

Zane gasped "And from the way that you said that, that must be the card you discarded earlier with your soldier's effect."

"You're a fast learner" the Guardian stated and a blue dragon with transparent wings appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500) "And it gets worse for you, since I control two monsters with the same level, it means that I can use them to build the overlay network."

Crowler gasped "Oh no!" he gasped "Not this summoning method."

Then the Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon and the Galaxy Knight turned into purple particles and were sucked into a black portal "When the dragon with the power of the galaxy united with the galactic warrior, they form one of the best combinations in the galaxy, I XYZ summon Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon dragon in attack mode." An even larger version of the Galaxy eyes dragon appeared on the field (Rank 8 Attack 4000 Defence 3000). "That will do it for me." He finished

Crowler and Zane stood in shock; this Guardian had summoned a powerful XYZ monster on his first turn. If this Guardian was able to pull a move off like that, then even Zane and Crowler who were both experienced duellists would have big problems with this duel.

Zane looked at his hand as he drew his card 'This is going to be harder than I thought." He thought in his head 'The only card I have that is powerful enough against that Galaxy Eyes is to use Power Bond to summon Cyber End, but there's no point in that right now, I don't have the cards to summon him and even if I did, he wouldn't be able to attack. So I guess for now I'll have to keep my defences up. "Since you control a monster and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode." A large mechanical dragon appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 1600). "And I can still normal summon so I summon Cyber Dragon Drei in attack mode" another mechanical dragon with yellow markings appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 800). "I'll finish my turn by throwing two cards facedown."

Crowler then drew his card "I'll start by playing the spell card Ancient Gear Castle, this allows all Ancient Gear monsters I control to gain 300 attack points. Then I play the spell card Foolish Burial which allows me to send a monster in my deck to the graveyard. But he won't be in my grave for long because now I play the spell card Monster Reborn which summons him back. Say hello to Ancient Gear Golem." A massive mechanical Golem made from rusted metal appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 3000). And thanks to the castle, Golem gained more attack points (AGG Attack 3000-3300) "Then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown since you said none of us can attack this turn."

The Guardian smirked as he drew two cards from his deck "I'll start my turn by changing my Galaxy Soldier back into Attack mode." The Galaxy Soldier stood up from his kneeling position "Then I will use my Prime Photon Dragon to XYZ another monster."

"Wait what?" Crowler questioned

The Guardian smirked "I can XYZ summon another XYZ monster from my deck using my Prime Photon Dragon if the monster I'm summon has an effect that allows this such as the one I'm about to summon. Normally it requires 3 level monsters but I could also use a Galaxy Eyes XYZ monster instead and all overlay units are transferred to this new monster." Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon Dragon turned into purple particles and was sucked into another portal "When one Galaxy Eyes is traded for another, their armour becomes even stronger. I XYZ summon Galaxy Eyes Full Armour Photon Dragon." A new Galaxy Eyes Dragon that had strong metal armour surrounding his body appeared on the field (Rank 8 Attack 4000 Defence 3500).

"He upgraded his monster!" Crowler gasped

"And now he has three overlay units" The Guardian smirked "And now I'm going to use one of them to activate Full Armour's special ability. Now my Full Armour destroys one monster on your field."

"Oh no!" Crowler gasped

"I think I will destroy that Golem" the Guardian stated and then one of the overlay units was absorbed by Full Armour and he sent a blast of purple fire which struck the Golem and destroyed him. "And now my monsters will attack; now I think I will play safe and destroy the monsters on your friend's field first. Galaxy Soldier, attack that Drei." Galaxy soldier jumped into the air and then punched through Cyber Dragon Drei and destroyed him.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 8000  
Guardian: 16000**

"And now my Galaxy Eyes will attack that normal Cyber Dragon." The Guardian added and the Galaxy Eyes unleashed another blast of purple fire.

But Zane had another plan "I activate my facedown card, Attack Reflector Unit." He stated "This activates when you attack my Cyber Dragon, now Attack Reflector Unit reflects him into a new monster, my Cyber Barrier Dragon." Several large mirrors appeared on the field and a light reflected off them and onto Cyber Dragon which changed him into a large Cyber Dragon with pink markings and a barrier at the head (Level 6 Attack 800 Defence 2800). "And now once per turn, Cyber Barrier can negate your attack." Cyber Barrier created a field which blocked the Galaxy Eye's attack.

The Guardian smirked "Impressive" he stated "But you're not through this yet and you are in trouble. I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

Zane sighed as he drew his card 'He's right, my Cyber Barrier only blocks one attack each turn and he has low attack points so I'll only waste his effect if I keep him in attack mode. I guess I'll just have to use him for defence and forget about his effect.' He thought to himself "I switch my Cyber Barrier Dragon into defence mode. Then I'll summon Cyber Larva in defence mode." A small cyber caterpillar like monster appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 400 Defence 600). "That will do it for my turn."

"My move" Crowler stated as he drew his card "And I'll start by activating my facedown card, Ancient Gear Reborn, this allows me to bring back my Ancient Gear Golem to the field with an extra 200 attack points plus the 300 from my Castle." The Golem returned to the field and then gained extra attack points (AGG Attack 3000-3500). "Next I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards from my deck." Crowler drew two cards from his deck "And now I summon Ancient Gear Wyvern in attack mode." A large mechanical Wyvern made of scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200) and then it also gained attack points thanks to Ancient Gear Castle (AGW Attack 1700-2000). "Now I play his ability which allows me to add One Ancient Gear card from my deck to my hand so I choose to add the spell card Ancient Gear Tank which I will now use on my Golem which gives him another 600 attack points." A large mechanical tank appeared which the Golem then sat inside (AGG Attack 3500-4100). "Now my Golem has more attack points than your Galaxy Eyes, so attack and don't even think about using your facedowns as when my Golem attacks, you can't activate any of them until the end of the damage step." Golem lined up his tank and fired a shot which struck the Galaxy Eyes.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 8000  
Guardian: 15900**

Crowler smirked "There's goes your best monster" he stated

"Is he gone?" the Guardian questioned which left Crowler and Zane confused until the smoke cleared which revealed the Galaxy Eyes Dragon was still on the field.

"What!" Crowler gasped "But how?"

The Guardian smirked "I may not have been able to play any traps but I could still activate the effect of my Photon Protector, by discarding him, my Galaxy Eyes isn't destroyed."

Crowler groaned as now his plan to destroy Galaxy Eyes was gone. He could have taken out the Galaxy Soldier but that would have just destroyed both monsters and lowered his defences. And Crowler knew what would happen next turn. "I place one card facedown and then end my turn."

"My move" the Guardian stated as he drew his card "And once again I use my Galaxy Eyes special ability so now by using another overlay unit, that Golem is once again destroyed" Galaxy Eyes absorbed one Overlay Unit and then sent a blast which destroyed the Golem again.

Crowler smirked "Since my tank was destroyed as well, you take 600 points of damage" he stated and a ghost version of the cannon shot the Guardian who didn't react.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 8000  
Guardian: 15300**

"And now my Galaxy Eyes will attack hat Wyvern." Galaxy Eyes sent another blast which destroyed the Wyvern and created a large explosion that sent Crowler flying backwards who cried out in pain when he hit the floor.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 6000  
Guardian: 15300**

"DR Crowler!" Zane gasped in shock

The Guardian was not done yet "And I still have my Galaxy Soldier on my field, so now I will destroy that Cyber Larva." Galaxy Soldier jumped into the air and punched Cyber Larva which destroyed him.

Zane smirked "When Cyber larva is destroyed; I can summon another one from my deck." A second Cyber Larva appeared on the field.

"Well then, I guess I shall end my turn now" the Guardian stated

Zane drew his card and smirked at what it was; 'Now I have what I need to destroy that Galaxy Eyes, but I'll have to watch out for those facedowns.' "I'll start by summoning Cyber Dragon Zwei in attack mode." A mechanical dragon with green markings appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1500 Defence 1000). "And now I activate his ability, by revealing a spell card in my hand, his name becomes Cyber Dragon until the end of the turn. So I reveal my Power Bond spell in my hand which I will now activate to fuse Cyber Dragon Zwei which my normal Cyber Dragon in my hand to summon Cyber Twin Dragon." Zwei and a normal Cyber Dragon were sucked into a portal and a two headed mechanical dragon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 2800 Defence 2100). "And thanks to Power Bond, his attack points double until the end of this turn." Cyber Twin Dragon roared as his attack doubled (CTD Attack 2800-5600). "I'll now switch Barrier Dragon back into attack mode and then I'll have Cyber Twin attack that Galaxy Eyes and your Galaxy Soldier, go Double Strident Blast." Both heads of Cyber Twin let out a powerful blast which engulfed both Galaxy Eyes and the Galaxy Soldier and destroyed them.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 6000  
Guardian: 10100**

"I play my facedown card, Galaxy recovery" The Guardian stated now since my Galaxy Eyes Full Armour was destroyed, I can add my normal Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon to my hand."

"You'll need him." Zane stated "I still have my Barrier Dragon, attack with Sonic Shriek." Barrier Dragon let out a supersonic shriek which blew the Guardian backwards.

 **Zane: 7800  
Crowler: 6000  
Guardian: 9300**

"And now I end my turn" Zane finished "Which now means I have to take damage equal to the original attack points of my Cyber Twin since I used Power Bond." 'But it was worth it to get rid of that XYZ monster and now his field's wide open for Crowler's attack.'

 **Zane: 5000  
Crowler: 6000  
Guardian: 9300**

"My move" Crowler stated as he drew his card and smirked "And now I sacrifice my Ancient Gear Castle, by doing this, it counts as the same number of sacrifices as to how many monsters I have summoned, this allows me to summon Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon in attack mode." A massive mechanical dragon made from scrap metal appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 3000 Defence 3000) "And now he will attack you directly and you can't activate that facedown thanks to his ability." Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon let out a breath of hot steam which made the Guardian groan in pain.

 **Zane: 5000  
Crowler: 6000  
Guardian: 6300**

"And since my Reactor Dragon attacked, his ability now activates which destroys that remaining facedown card on your field" Crowler added and Reactor Dragon's steam burnt the facedown card which shattered. "I'll end my turn with that."

The Guardian drew two more cards from his deck "You may have defeated my Full Armour, but this duel is not over yet, I have more than one copy of some of my monsters so I discard my Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon again in order to summon another Galaxy Solider in attack mode." A second Galaxy Soldier appeared on the field. "Now I use his ability to add Galaxy Wizard to my hand which I will now summon." A tall wizard wearing a white robe appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 0 Defence 1800). "Sure he may not look like much but I use his ability to sacrifice him and summon another Galaxy Knight from my deck." A second Galaxy Knight appeared on the field. "And with Monster Reborn, I bring back my Full Armour Galaxy Eyes back from the graveyard." The Galaxy Eyes Full Armour Photon Dragon returned to the field.

Zane and Crowler gasped in shock "He's got his monsters back!" Crowler gasped

"True but my Cyber Twin Dragon is still stronger and that Full Armour has no overlay units since it came back from the graveyard" Zane stated "That means he can't use his Full Armour's ability."

The Guardian smirked "Well I have a few cards that will counter that, such as an old favourite spell card, Lightning Vortex."

Crowler and Zane widened their eyes in horror "Not that card!" he gasped

The Guardian smirked "I can only wipe out the monsters on one of your fields so say goodbye to those Cyber Dragons." A lightning strike took out Zane's Cyber Twin, Cyber Larva and Cyber Barrier which left him defenceless except for his facedown.

"And my Full armour can get even better by using him as an overlay unit for a new XYZ monster" The Guardian added, "only this one is one rank higher." Galaxy Eyes Full Armour Photon Dragon turned into purple particles and was sucked into a vortex "When the power of the Galaxy grows, so does the power of darkness to increase their strength, go rank up XYZ evolution, I XYZ summon Galaxy Eyes Dark Matter Dragon." A much darker dragon which looked more like a demon appeared on the field (Rank 9 Attack 4000 Defence 0). "And there is more, I can remove the overlay unit that my Dark Matter Dragon has and now he can attack twice this turn." This made Crowler and Zane gasp in horror "Now Dark Matter, take out that Reactor Dragon." Dark Mater swooped into Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon and wrapped around the machine and soon the mechanical dragon turned into a pool of goo which fell to the ground.

 **Zane: 5000  
Crowler: 5000  
Guardian: 6300**

"And like I said before, my Dark Matter can attack twice so take attack the blue haired boy." The Guardian added and Dark Matter swooped onto Zane and the contact he made caused him to groan in pain and fall to the ground

 **Zane: 1000  
Crowler: 5000  
Guardian: 6300**

"You should have attack Crowler" Zane stated as he pushed himself up to his feet "Because now I can activate the trap card Damage Condenser, this allows me to summon a monster from my deck with less attack points that the damage I just took, so say hello to my Cyber Dinosaur." A mechanical dinosaur appeared on the field (Level 7 Attack 2500 Defence 1900).

The Guardian smirked "Well my Knight and Soldier can still attack your friend directly" he stated and the Knight slashed Crowler with his sword while the Solider punched Crowler hard which knocked him to the ground.

 **Zane: 1000  
Crowler: 200  
Guardian: 6300**

"I will end my turn with that" The Guardian finished "Now you better make these moves count otherwise my dragon will defeat you on my next turn."

Zane cringed 'He's right' he thought 'I don't have anything in my hand that can help and I don't have the materials to summon Cyber End or Cyber Laser which would have been able to beat that Dark Matter. I guess I'll have to just hope Crowler can do something on his turn but I can still bring down his lifepoints.' Zane looked at his monster and then at the Guardian "Alright, Cyber Dinosaur, attack that Galaxy Solider." He ordered and the Cyber Dinosaur charged and scooped up Galaxy Solider and then crushed him in his jaws.

 **Zane: 1000  
Crowler: 200  
Guardian: 5800**

"I now end my turn." Zane finished and then he looked at Crowler "It's up to you Crowler; I sure hope you can help finish this because if you don't then we're finished."

Crowler nodded and he looked at his hand where he saw he had Ancient Gear Soldier and Limiter Removal in his hand. Those wouldn't be much good but when he drew his card, he smiled "I play the spell Card of Demise; this allows me to draw until I hold five cards in my hand." Zane drew and then he held five cards in his hands and he smiled as now he had what he needed "I play the spell card Monster Reborn, this allows me to bring back my Golem." Ancient Gear Golem returned to the field "But I'm not done; now I play Polymerization to fuse Ancient Gear Golem on my field with my Ancient Gear Soldier and Ancient Gear Knight in my hand." Golem along with spirits of Crowler's Soldier and Knight were sucked into a large portal "Unite the wisdom and savagery of past ages, they create a powerful behemoth, I fusion summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem." A massive centaur like monster with the upper body of Ancient Gear Golem appeared on the field (Level 9 Attack 4400 Defence 3400). "And I am ending this duel here thanks to the final card in my hand, Limiter Removal; this card doubles the attack points of my Golem." Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem growled as his attack doubled (UAGG Attack: 4400-8800).

"8800 Attack points!" the Guardian gasped

"This card now had the strength to end this duel." Crowler smirked "Ultimate Ancient Golem, attack that Galaxy Knight and finish the rest of his life points." Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem charged forward and then lifted his arm up and smashed Galaxy Knight and created a large explosion which blew the Guardian backwards onto his back.

 **Zane: 1000 (Winner)  
Crowler: 200 (Winner)  
Guardian: 0000**

"We did it." Crowler cheered "We beat the Guardian."

The Guardian managed to push himself up to his feet and look at Crowler and Zane and smile "Impressive, it had been a while since anyone has been able to beat me in a fight."

"So I take it we're earned our reward?" Zane stated

"You have indeed." The Guardian spoke "But before I reward you, you must wait until your friends have pasted their test. You should see how their doing."

Then the wall opened up to reveal another room on the other side of the wall and on that side was a room just like the room that Crowler and Zane were in. Both of them gasped in shock at what they saw. It was another duel with a Guardian with Solona, Neria and Sereda facing off against a massive red dragon with black markings.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Well another chapter complete and the next chapter will be the second duel in the Temple and I wonder if anyone can guess which deck Solona, Neria and Sereda will be facing. Also next chapter, we will be seeing some familiar characters that we have not seen for a while. I am also finally working on another chapter of the Wolf Awakens and I will have that chapter finished soon.**


	26. The Ancient Temple Part 2:

**The Ancient Temple Part 2:**

While Zane and Crowler and gone through their tunnel, Solona along with Neria and Sereda walked through the tunnel that appeared after they had been separated.

"Where do you think this tunnel leads?" Neria asked

"My best guess is that this is part of the test." Sereda stated "A Test to see if you're worthy to wield the prize cards."

"Well first of all, we have to find a way out of here first." Solona stated and they carried on walking down the tunnel until they came into a large room just like the one that Zane and Crowler had come into through their tunnel. The room was dark and the only light they had was from a torch that Sereda was carrying.

"This must be where the test takes place." Sereda stated

"Yeah or it could just be a trap." Neria stated and then just as she finished saying that, a bright light flash which made everyone cover their eyes because of how bright it was. Then the light dimmed a bit and allowed the girls to adjust to the light. When they looked around, they saw that they were in a large room that looked like a temple as there was a large alter at the far side of the room. And standing in front of the chest was a man.

This man was dressed in red armour that was made to look like a dragon. He glared at the three girls "I am one of the Guardians of this Temple; until you have proven yourselves worthy then you cannot be allowed to continue to find the treasure."

"We did not come here seeking riches." Solona stated "We came hoping to seek aid to rescue our friends."

"The aid you seek is the treasure of this Temple." The Guardian stated "Everyone must pass a test and beat me in a duel to be granted some of the treasure."

"So we just have to beat you in a duel?" Neria stated "That will take a while if you face us one by one."

The Guardian smirked "I have a better idea." he claimed "I haven't done something like this in a while but I will face you all at once."

"You mean a three on one duel?" Sereda gasped

"Indeed." The Guardian smirked "If you defeat me then I shall grant you the treasure and you will leave."

"But what about our friends?" Neria asked "We were separated from two others when we got here."

"And what happens if we lose?" Solona questioned

"To answer you first question, your friends will be duelling another guardian." The Guardian stated "In fact they're right next door to here on the other side of that wall." He pointed to the wall with was left to the girls "From what I observed before I came here, your friends are having problems facing the power of the Galaxy Eyes but I have a different kind of dragon in mind. And to answer your second question, if you lose then you will still be allowed to leave, we don't trap people here unless they try to steal the cards if they lose. You will leave but you will leave with nothing."

"I guess we'll just have to face him together." Solona stated

"I just hope our decks will work together." Sereda stated "I mean we have completely different decks."

"We'll just have to hope for the best." Neria finished as she activated her duel Disk and placed her deck inside alongside Solona and Sereda.

The Guardian stepped forward and a duel disk appeared from his armour "Now remember, each turn I will draw three cards and no one can attack on their first turn. Is that understood?"

"Understood." Solona, Sereda and Neria stated

"Good." The Guardian replied and they all drew five cards.

" **DUEL!"**

 **Guardian: 24000  
Solona: 8000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 8000**

"You lot can go first." The Guardian stated

"If you insist." Solona stated as she drew her sixth card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Double Summon, this card allows me to normal summon twice this turn so I summon Alexandrite Dragon and throw a monster facedown." A large blue scale dragon appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2000 Defence 100). "Then I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

"My turn." Sereda stated as she drew her card "And I summon Dwarven Smith in attack mode." A dwarf wearing a blacksmith apron and wielding a hammer appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1400 Defence 1400). "And when my smith is on the field, all Dwarven monsters gain 400 attack points including him." The Smith glowed as he gain attack points (DS Attack 1400-1800). "And I will end my turn by placing two cards facedown.

"And now it's my turn." Neria stated as she drew her sixth card "And I'll start by playing the spell card Charge of the Light Brigade which allows me to add a Lightsworn monster to my hand by discarding the top three cards of my deck." Neria picked the top three cards of her deck and sent them to the grave and one of the cards was Wulf Lightsworn Beast "And since Wulf was sent from the deck to the grave, I can summon him." A large Cat monster wielding a large axe appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 2100 Defence 300). "Then I'll summon Jain Lightsworn Paladin in attack mode." A white haired girl wearing armour appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1200). "And just like my friends, I'll end my turn by throwing one card facedown."

"It's my turn now." The Guardian stated as he drew his three cards "And now we'll see how well you can handle the power of my deck, I'll start with a special summon, since I control no monsters, I can summon Red Gargoyle." A red gargoyle that had fire on its wings and tail appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1200 Defence 1400.) "And now I Red Resonator to the field." A fiendish looking fireball wearing a mask appeared on the field (Level 2 Attack 600 Defence 200). "And now my Gargoyle's second ability activates which doubles my monsters level to level 4" (RR Level 4). "Also, my resonator has an effect of its own, now I can summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand so I summon Dark Resonator." A small black furball wearing the same mask as the Red Resonator appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1300 Defence 300). "And now I tune my level 4 Red Resonator with my level 4 Red Gargoyle." The Resonator became 4 rings of light which surrounded the Gargoyle and created a large beam of light "Born in the fires of a volcano and fuelled by anger, I summon one of the most power demons ever created. I Synchro summon, Red Dragon Archfiend." A massive red and black dragon appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2000). "Next I will equip my Resonator with Resonator Fury which gives him an extra 800 Attack points." The Resonator Glowed as he gained more power (DR Attack 1300-2100). "And now Red Dragon Archfiend, destroy that Alexandrite Dragon." Red Dragon Archfiend sent a blast of purple fire which engulfed and destroyed Alexandrite Dragon and the blast sent Solona flying backwards.

 **Guardian: 24000  
Solona: 7000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 8000**

Solona groaned as she pushed herself up "Is that it?" she questioned "Well it will take a lot more than that to defeat me."

The Guardian smirked "You've got fire in you lass." He stated "But I'm not done but I think I will see how your companions fare, Dark Resonator, destroy that Paladin." The Resonator flung itself towards Jain and destroyed the Lightsworn Paladin and knocked Neria back who groaned slightly.

 **Guardian: 24000  
Solona: 7000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7700**

"And now I will end my turn by placing my own card facedown." The Guardian finished.

Solona narrowed her eyes as she drew her card "Well you may have destroyed my Alexandrite but I still have another monster on my field so I flip my facedown monster, Keeper of the Shrine." Solona's facedown monster flipped to reveal the dragon like priest "But he won't be around for long as now I will sacrifice him to summon a new monster. And Keeper of the Shrine counts as two sacrifices for a dragon type monster; I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon." The Keeper disappeared and a large white scaled dragon with blue scales appeared on the field (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500). "Next I banish my Alexandrite Dragon in my graveyard in order to summon this monster, Black Dragon Collapserpent." A large black scaled dragon with an orange underbelly and no legs appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1800 Defence 1700).

"Wait, when did Solona get that?" Neria questioned

"That's a new card, Solona's never used that?" Sereda added

Solona smiled at her friends "I modified my deck recently, I added some new cards since we were in unknown territory, and I wanted to be prepared. Anyway, my Black Dragon's ability activates, now I can add his bother to my hand, White Dragon Wyverburster and just like Black Dragon, I can summon him by banishing a monster from my grave but it has to be dark and since Keeper of the Shrine is a dark attribute, I banish him." A white scaled dragon with a blue underbelly appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1800).

"Three monsters?" the Guardian questioned "None of them have the strength to destroy my Red Dragon Archfiend. That Blue Eyes could but it would also be destroyed."

"Which is why I'm stepping up my defence since I don't know what's coming next?" Solona stated "And I can add another Black Dragon to my hand thanks to Wyverburster's effect. Now Blue Eyes attack that Resonator." Blue Eyes unleashed a burst of Blue fire which engulfed and destroyed the Resonator.

 **Guardian: 23100  
Solona: 7000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7700**

"That will do it for me." Solona finished.

"My turn." Sereda stated as she drew her card "I'll step up defence as well by switching my Smith to defence mode and placing a monster facedown. That will do it for me."

"My move" Neria stated as she drew her card "And I'll summon Raiden Hand of the Lightsworn in attack mode." A muscular man, who was shirtless, had short black hair with a pony tail, wearing a blue scarf and wielding two daggers appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1000). "And now I activate his ability, so I send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard and for every Lightsworn monster discarded Raiden gains 200 attack points. The two cards Neria sent were Felis Lightsworn Archer and the trap Lightsworn Judgement. "So since I sent one Lightsworn to the graveyard, Raiden gains 200 attack points" (RHOTL Attack 1700-1900). "And since the monster I sent was Felis Lightsworn Archer, her ability activates which allows me to summon her." A green haired cat woman with a bow and arrow appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1100 Defence 2000). "But she won't be around for long because now I will sacrifice her in order to activate her effect which destroys one monster on your field so long as I discard three cards from my deck. So say Goodbye to your Archfiend." The Guardian gasped as Felis fired an arrow as she faded which struck Red Dragon Archfiend and destroyed him. "And now with that Archfiend gone, you're wide open so Raiden attack him directly." Raiden charged at the Guardian and slashed him with his daggers.

 **Guardian: 21200  
Solona: 7000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7700**

"And don't think that I've forgotten about Wulf so he'll attack you as well." Neria added and Wulf slashed the Guardian with his axe.

 **Guardian: 19100  
Solona: 7000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7700**

"That will do it for this turn." Neria stated "Which means I must mill two cards thanks to Radian's effect."

The Guardian smirked "Impressive" he stated "You destroyed my Red Dragon Archfiend and you've increased your defence in preparation." He then drew three cards from his deck "But there are more powerful dragons than my Archfiend. But first I summon Red Sprinter to the field in attack mode." A fiery red horse on fire appeared on the field (Level 4 Attack 1700 Defence 1200). "And since he was summoned when I control no other monsters, I can special summon a level 3 or below fiend tuner from my grave so now Red Resonator returns to the field." The fiery Resonator returned to the field "But now I tune Level 2 Red Resonator with Level 4 Red Sprinter." Red Resonator turned into two rings of light which surrounded Red Sprinter and created a beam of light "Now I Synchro summon Red Rising Dragon" a dragon made of fire appeared on the field (Level 6 Attack 2100 Defence 1600). "And now his effect activates which brings Red Resonator back." Red Resonator once again returned to the field "And now I'll tune him again with Red Rising."

"Two Synchro summons in one turn!" Solona gasped

"He must be summoning a more powerful dragon now." Neria added

Red Resonator turned into two rings of light which surrounded Red Rising Dragon and created another beam of light "I Synchro Summon Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend." A massive Red Dragon just like the previous Archfiend appeared on the field only this one was bigger and had bigger horns (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2500). "And this one has a special ability of it's own, now I can destroy as many special summoned monsters on your fields as I can and for each one, you take 500 points of damage. Now whoever controls the destroyed monsters takes the damage in this three on one duel." He pointed at Solona "Since that White Dragon and Black Dragon were special summoned, they are destroyed and you take 1000 points of damage." Solona's two Dragon were struck by a large fireball which burnt them and also burnt Solona.

 **Guardian: 19100  
Solona: 6000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7700**

The Guardian pointed at Sereda's field "Since both of those monsters were normal summoned, you don't take any damage." Then he pointed at Neria's field "That Wulf on the other hand was special summon so he is destroyed." Wulf was burnt in a fireball and Neria groaned as she was burnt as well.

 **Guardian: 19100  
Solona: 6000  
Sereda: 8000  
Neria: 7200**

"And before I attack, I play the spell card Stop Defence which switched that Dwarven Smith into attack mode." The Guardian stated and Dwarven Smith stood up "I'll dealt damage to your friends so I think it's only right if you take damage, Red Dragon Archfiend, attack that Smith." Scarlight unleashed a blast of fire which engulfed and destroyed the Smith and Sereda was sent backwards.

 **Guardian: 19100  
Solona: 6000  
Sereda: 6800  
Neria: 7200**

"And I will end this turn by throwing one card facedown." The Guardian finished

"My move." Solona stated as she drew her card "I may have lost my Collapserpent and Wyverburster but I can now remove Wyverburster from my grave to summon a second Black Dragon Collapserpent." A second black dragon appeared on the field "And now I can add another Wyverburster to my hand and by removing the Collapserpent from play in my grave, Wyverburster appears on the field as well." A Second White Dragon Wyverburster appeared on the field. "And while they may not be strong enough to destroy that Archfiend, I have another monster I can use instead, now I play Polymerization to fuse the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field with a second one in my hand." The two Blue Eyes White Dragons were sucked into a portal "When two dragons become one, they form a mighty beast that can blast anything in it's path, I fusion summon Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon." A large crystal blue scaled dragon with two heads appeared on the field (Level 10 Attack 3000 Defence 2500). "While he has the same attack points as your Archfiend, my Twin Burst cannot be destroyed in Battle and if you think about making your dragon immune to being destroy then forget it because if Twin Burst attacks a monster that is not destroyed then it gets banished at the end of the damage step."

"Alright!" Sereda cheered "Now Solona can take out that Archfiend."

"Twin Burst can also attack twice but only on monsters so you are lucky for now." Solona added. "Now Twin Burst, attack that Scarlight with Double Burst Stream." The two heads of Twin Burst shot a blast of blue fire which combined into one and struck Scarlight and destroyed him. "Now Collapserpent and Wyverburster will attack you directly," both dragons spat a fireball which struck the Guardian and threw him back slightly.

 **Guardian: 15600  
Solona: 6000  
Sereda: 6800  
Neria: 7200**

"And now I will end my turn." Solona finished.

The Guardian started clamping "Well done. You've destroyed my Scarlight. Too bad for you that it won't be for long because now I play my facedown Call of the Haunted which brings him back." Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend returned to the field.

"Great, now he has the dragon back." Neria hissed

"Well he may have brought it back." Sereda smirked "But that means I can just take it down again. And I'll do that by flipping my facedown monster, Dwarven Scout, now since he was flipped, I can destroy one card on the field and I choose that Scarlight."

But the Guardian only laughed "That would be the case if I didn't have this in my hand, my Red Gardna." He stated "By discarding him, monsters on my field cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn."

Sereda groaned now that her plan had failed. She looked at her hand and smiled, she may not be able to destroy that Scarlight but she could still deal damage to the Guardian. "I sacrifice my Scout in order to summon Dwarven Silent Sister." A female Dwarf wearing Leather armour and wielding two daggers appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2200 Defence 1800). "And now I play the spell card Carta Strike, now by discarding one card in my hand, my Silent Sister can attack you directly." The Silent Sister slashed the Guardian with her daggers.

 **Guardian: 13400  
Solona: 6000  
Sereda: 6800  
Neria: 7200**

"That will do it for me." Sereda finished

Neria drew her card and looked at what she had 'I could summon Lumina and step up my defence.' She thought 'But that won't do much good as that Scarlight will just destroy them on the Guardians turn and I have nothing that can help me right now so I guess I should just normal summon.' "I place a monster facedown and switch Raiden to defence mode. That will be all which means I have to discard two cards thanks to Radian."

The Guardian smirked "Well I guess there isn't much you can when I have very strong monsters on the field." He stated as he drew three cards "Now before I do anything, I think I will use Scarlight's ability so all three of those dragons are destroyed and you take 1500 points of damage." A fireball engulfed Solona's field and destroyed Solona's three dragons and also burnt Solona.

 **Guardian: 13400  
Solona: 4500  
Sereda: 6800  
Neria: 7200**

"And now I play the spell card Tribute to the Doomed, now by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy that Dwarven Silent Sister." The Guardian stated and the ground shook and swallowed Sereda's Silent Sister. "And now I play Monster Reborn which allows me to bring back the card I discarded, my Red Dragon" a fiery red dragon appeared on the field (Level 5 Attack 2100 Defence 1200). "And now I summon Flare Resonator to the field in attack mode." A small fireball with a mask appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 300 Defence 1300). "And now I have what I need to perform another Synchro summon, I tune my level 3 Flare Resonator with my level 5 Red Dragon." Flare Resonator turned into three rings of light which surrounded Red Dragon and created a beam of light "When the fiery pits of a volcano are open, they unleashed a dragon that can burn the land, I Synchro summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend." Another massive dragon just like the other Archfiend dragons appeared on the field only this one stood on two feet and had a massive fist on one hand (Level 8 Attack 3000 Defence 2000). "Also since Flare Resonator was used Hot gains 300 attack points (HRDA Attack 3000-3300).

Solona, Sereda and Neria gasped at the sight of two massive dragons which let out loud roars which made the three girls cover the ears "That can't be good." Sereda gasped.

Neria was safe for now as she still had monsters on her field but Sereda and Solona were wide open for a direct attack. Neria widened her eyes in horror when she realised something "Solona, if both those dragons attack you then you'll lose the rest of your life points!" Solona gasped as Neria was right, she didn't have enough life points to withstand both attacks.

The Guardian smirked "She's right, which this attack, one of my opponents will be finished, Hot Red Dragon Archfiend, attack that Dragon girl!" Hot Red Dragon Archfiend fired his flaming fist towards Solona which created a large explosion that blew Solona backwards and she landed on her back.

 **Guardian: 13400  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 6800  
Neria: 7200**

"And it looks like it's over for you." The Guardian stated

Solona slowly pushed herself up but she smirked "You would think so but you've forgotten one thing." She pointed to the facedown that she had placed back on her first turn, the Guardian had forgotten about it since Solona never used it "I play my trap card Damage Condenser, now by discarding one card, I can summon a monster from my deck with equal or less attack points than the monster I lost, so now I summon my third Blue Eyes from my deck." Solona's third Blue Eyes appeared on the field.

The Guardian smirked "Well I can still deal a lot of damage to your friend so Scarlight, attack Sereda." Scarlight unleashed a blast of fire which blew Sereda backwards.

 **Guardian: 13400  
Solona: 1500  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"Sereda!" Neria gasped

"And I will now end my turn with that." The Guardian finished.

"Great!" Solona groaned "Every time we destroy his dragon, he just summons it back. But if I can open his field for all of us then maybe we have a chance." Solona drew his card "I play the spell card Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards." Solona drew two new cards from her deck and smirked "I play Fusion Recovery which returns Polymerization and one of the Blue Eyes in my grave to my hand and once again, I will fuse my two blue Eyes to create a second Blue Eyes Twin Burst." Another Blue Eyes Twin Burst appeared on the field "And now I equip him with the Equip spell Black pendent which increase his attack points by 500." A black necklace appeared around Twin Burst's neck (BETBD Attack 3000-3500). "And now once last time, I will summon my final copies of Wyverburster and Collapserpent." The Black and White Dragons once again appeared on the field "Even if you summon back your dragons, at least I will knock your life points down low before you do. Twin Burst, destroy both of those Dragons." Each of Twin Burst's heads unleashed a breath of fire which struck and destroyed the two Archfiend dragons.

 **Guardian: 12700  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"And my two remaining Dragons will attack you directly as well." Solona added and Collapserpent and Wyverburster unleashed a blast of fire which struck the Guardian.

 **Guardian: 9200  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"I will end my turn by throwing one card facedown." Solona finished

Sereda drew her card "There isn't much I can do other than play the spell card Monster Reborn to summon back my Dwarven Silent Sister who will now attack you directly." Dwarven Silent Sister slashed the Guardian with her daggers.

 **Guardian: 7000  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"And I will summon another monster facedown and throw another card facedown." Sereda added "That will be all for me."

Neria then drew her card "I'll start by flipping the monster I had facedown, Lumina Lightsworn Summoner." A short blond haired woman with a white dress and balls of light in her hands appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1000 Defence 1000). "And now I activate her ability which allows me to bring Jain back from the grave." Jain Lightsworn Paladin returned to the field "Next I'll switch Radian back into attack mode. And now all three monsters will attack you directly." Jain slashed the Guardian with her sword, Radian slashed his daggers and Lumina threw a ball of light which struck the Guardian.

 **Guardian: 2500  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"I will end my turn by placing two cards facedown which means that thanks to my Lightsworns, I have to discard 7 cards." Neria finished as she discarded 7 cards from her deck, one of which was Neria's Judgement Dragon 'Now we've brought that Guardian's lifepoints very low, depending on what he does now Solona may be able to beat him on her turn.'

Neria was distracted when she heard the Guardian laugh "You three are the strongest opponents that I have faced for a long time. So far there has only been one who had the strength to beat me but now, let's see how you do against the beast that she faced. I'm stepping this up now." He drew his three cards "I'll start by playing the spell card Scarlight healing so now I can remove Scarlight from play in order to gain his attack points as life points." The Spirit of Scarlight was absorbed by the Guardian.

 **Guardian: 5500  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 7200**

"Then I'll play Monster Reborn which allows me to bring back my Red Dragon Archfiend." The Guardian added as his Red Dragon Archfiend returned to the field "And now I play the spell card Resonator Call which allows me to add Chain Resonator from my deck to my hand which I will now summon." A black furball wearing a mask and wrapped with a chain appeared on the field (Level 1 Attack 100 Defence 100). "And since he was summoned while I control a Synchro monster, I can special summon a Resonator from my deck so I summon Clock Resonator." A cloaked Resonator with a big clock behind him appeared on the field (Level 3 Attack 1200 Defence 600). "And now my level 3 Clock Resonator and my level 1 chain resonator will double tune my level 8 Red Dragon Archfiend."

Solona, Sereda and Neria gasped as the two Resonators formed 4 rings of light which surrounded Red Dragon Archfiend. "Double Tune?" Solona gasped

"That makes a Level 12 monster!" Neria gasped

The Guardian smirked "Beyond as the stars high above in the sky and the fire deep down below in the air collide in a cosmic explosion. I Synchro summon Red Nova Dragon." A massive red and black dragon with skin that looked like molten lava appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 3500 Defence 3000).

The girls all gasped at the sight of the dragon, it was more powerful than anything they had faced yet. "I haven't seen a powerful dragon like that yet!" Sereda stated

But then the ground started to shake "Wait, what's going on?" Solona demanded.

The Guardian smirked "It seems that your friends have past their test." He stated "Now they get to watch as your finish your test."

Solona, Sereda and Neria watched as the wall on their right started moving which revealed Crowler and Zane who looked at them "Hey, are you three alright?" Zane questioned

"We're fine Zane" Sereda answered

The Guardian that the girls were facing had other ideas "You may seem fine with the number of monsters you have but none of them are any match for Red Nova Dragon, especially since he gains 500 attack points for every Tuner Monster in my graveyard."

"Wait, how powerful will this Dragon become then?" Crowler questioned as he had no idea as he had not seen the whole duel.

Solona however did know "Oh no, he had his Red, Flare and Dark Resonators in his graveyard before and with the two he just used for Red Nova, he has five in his graveyard."

"Which means Red Nova gains 2500 attack points!" Sereda added as her eyes widened in horror as Red Nova's attack points increased (RND Attack 3500-6000).

"6000 attack points!" Zane gasped in horror and he looked at Solona and Sereda and their lifepoint meters "That means that if he attacks any of Solona or Sereda's monsters then they will lose!"

"And I think I will take out the dragon girl but to be on the safe side, I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that facedown." A blue typhoon blew Solona's facedown card away which turned out to be Mirror Force "It seems like it was a smart idea to remove that trap. Now Red Nova Dragon, attack Twin Burst and finish the rest of her life points." Red Nova started to fire a blast which made Solona, Neria, Sereda, Zane and Crowler widened their eyes in shock.

"I guess one of us is going out of this duel." Sereda stated

Neria sighed and looked at her facedown cards. She closed her eyes but widened them with a look in them and she looked at Solona "Solona, it's not over yet."

"No it's not" Solona stated "You two are still in with a chance."

Neria smiled "No, I mean it's not over for you yet, I activate the trap Card Shift which allows me to change the attack target. Since we're working together I can change the attack target from Solona's monster to one of mine which means we all survive since I have more than enough life points to survive."

The Guardian smirked "That is how you work together." He stated

"It is." Neria stated "Now attack Jain." Red Nova's attacked switched to Neria's Lightsworn Paladin "This is going to hurt." Jain was blasted away from the blast and Neria was thrown back by the blast.

 **Guardian: 5500  
Solona: 1200  
Sereda: 3800  
Neria: 3000**

"Neria!" Zane gasped

Neria pushed herself up "Thanks to me we're all still in with a chance."

The Guardian smirked "You are for now but there is more to my Red Nova, she can't be destroyed by spells, traps or monster effects and if you do attack her then I can remove her until my next turn to negate the attack."

"Great, that means that this duel just got even harder!" Sereda groaned

"I end my turn." The Guardian finished "You must make this turn count otherwise I can finish one of you off next turn."

Solona sighed as she looked at her hand 'What am I going to do, the only way I could win this is by summoning Urthemiel which I have in my hand but there is no way I can summon it. I guess I better make this turn count.' "My draw." Solona drew her card "I activate the spell Card of Demise which allows me to draw until I hold five cards in my hand." Solona soon had five cards in her hand and gasped, she had Dragon's Mirror, Monster Reborn and Burial from a Different Dimension. With these cards, she could summon Urthemiel and make the duel easier for her companions. "I'll start by activating the spell card Burial from a Different Dimension, this card allows me to return Keeper from the shrine as well as one of my Collapserpent and Wyverburster that are removed from play to the graveyard. Then with Monster Reborn, Keeper of the Shrine returns to my field." Keeper of the Shrine returned to Solona's field "Now by using the spell card Dragon's Mirror, I fuse my Twin Burst along with my two Blue Eyes in my graveyard along with the copies of Collapserpent and Wyverburster in my graveyard." The five dragons were sucked into a portal "When five dragons are merged into one, they form one of the ultimate beasts ever created, I fusion summon Five Headed Dragon." Solona's five headed dragon appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000). "But he won't be around for long because now I'll sacrifice him along with Keeper of the Shrine."

"Solona, what are you doing?" Zane shouted "You removing your best monster?"

Solona smirked "Have you forgotten Zane that I have something even better?"

Neria gasped "Wait, are you bringing her out."

"I sure am." Solona smirked "From the time of ancients, people worshipped this creature of beauty as a god and she came to her people's defence when she needed them." Keeper of the Shrine and Five Headed Dragon were absorbed by a massive dragon which appeared on the field "I summon Urthemiel, Old God of Beauty."

The Guardians both gasped in shock as the massive God Dragon appeared on the field (Level 12 Attack 5000 Defence 5000). "Impossible, she has one of the God Dragons."

Sereda smirked and looked at Solona "Hey, you can win this duel now." She said which made Solona look at her confused, even if Solona did use Urthemiel's ability, the Guardian would just negate the attack and her two remaining dragons did not have the strength to finish the duel "I still have my trap card, Breakthrough Skill, this card negates the effects of your Red Nova until the end of this turn." The Guardian gasped as Red Nova weakened (RND Attack 6000-3500).

Neria smirked "I now activate my trap card, Lightsworn Strength, now by removing my Judgement Dragon which I discarded earlier from play; Urthemiel gains half his attack points." Urthemiel absorbed the spirit of Neria's Judgement Dragon (UOGOB Attack 5000-6500). "I know that Solona could have still won this duel without it but now we all had a role in this attack."

"We do." Solona smiled "Now I activate Urthemiel's special ability, now she absorbs half the attack points of my Five Headed Dragon." Urthemiel also absorbed Five Headed Dragon's spirit (UOGOB Attack 6500-9000).

"9000 Attack points!" the Guardian gasped

"You know what this means, this duel is over." Solona stated "Urthemiel, attack Red Nova Dragon and finish this duel." Urthemiel unleashed a blast of purple lightning which struck Red Nova and blasted the Guardian back.

 **Guardian: 0000  
Solona: 1200 (Winner)  
Sereda: 3800 (Winner)  
Neria: 3000 (Winner)**

Neria gasped "I can't believe it." He stated "We did it, we actually managed to do it."

The Guardian that Zane and Crowler faced walked over and helped the other guardian to his feet "In all my years as a Guardian, there has only ever been one other person who was able to find this temple and prove themselves worthy of gaining some treasure."

The Guardian that the girls faced looked at Solona "And that person ended up winning control of a dragon like the one you used at the end. Andoral Old God of Slaves, this was his temple and the location of his card. When the woman known as Calpernia arrived alongside the man known as Livius, she decided to take part in the test while Livius just tried to demand the card, as a result, he failed his test but Calpernia fought with skill and honour and in the end, won control of Andoral."

"But that means that Andoral is in the hands of the Elder One." Solona stated

"The Elder One?" the red armoured guardian questioned "Now that is a name I haven't heard in a while."

"Wait, you know the Elder One?" Sereda questioned

"We cannot answer these questions as we are just spirits and are unable to answer them." The Black armoured Guardian stated "But you should know that there is more to the Elder One and his Venatori than you think."

"But you all have past you tests." The Red Guardian stated "And now you have earned your reward." The large chest that Crowler and Zane saw earlier started to glow "Throughout our duels, this chest has been absorbing the essence of your decks and since you've won, it will create new cards for your decks, these new cards are all yours."

The chest opened and soon new cards were sent over to Solona and the group who looked as they all gained new monsters. Solona gained new Fusion, Synchro and even XYZ monsters while Neria gained new Synchro and XYZ monsters. Crowler, Sereda and Zane gained new Fusion and XYZ monsters.

The Black Guardian looked at them and waved his arm and created a portal "This portal will take you back to the entrance of this Temple. I wish you luck in your journeys."

Solona looked at the others "We should get back to Andoral's Reach." She stated "We have to make plans to rescue the others from the hands of the Warrior Faction."

The others nodded and followed Solona into the portal.

...

Far away from the Ancient Temple, a large force of Warrior soldiers arrived at a large stone tower. The tower was easily the tallest building for miles around and it could be seen from many miles away. Around the tower were smaller buildings that held many Warrior troops that were busy planning and the force of Warriors that arrived were dragging a prison cart with them. Inside the prison cart were the captured Daylen, Aedan and Kallian.

"This must be Aeonar prison that we were told about." Daylen stated

"This means that we are deep in the Warrior Faction's territory." Aedan sighed

"How are we going to get out of here?" Kallian asked them.

There was a wicked laugh and the three of them turned to see Karras, the highest member of the Warrior Faction who had been escorting them "The answer is you don't. No one has escape this place and you will most likely die here."

Daylen glared at the man "You warrior folks speak about justice but all I see are cowards. You seek to bring order but all you do is bring war and chaos!"

Karras laughed "You should be thankful that Meredith wanted you alive. I would have sealed you in a crystal if it was my choice but I always obey Meredith's orders." He turned to the leading prison guard "Take them to cell 125; Meredith wants them to be with those other ones that we brought in."

Daylen, Aedan and Kallian were dragged out of the cart by several Warrior Prison Guards who took their decks and duel disks and dragged them over to the cells. Daylen fought for a bit as did Aedan but the Warriors shocked them with poles which forced them to stop. They were dragged up a set of stairs and one guard opened a cell door and them the three of them were shoved inside and the door was shut again.

"Well, it seems that those cruel soldiers have brought in some more innocents." A female voice called from within the cell.

"Yeah." A male voice with a Spanish accent "I wonder if they are friendly."

Aedan suddenly stood up "Hey, that voice sounds familiar." He stated but he couldn't quite remember where he heard it from.

"And you sound very familiar to us." A third voice from within the cells called.

Daylen, Kallian and Aedan stood up and turned around to see who else was in the cell. They were shocked at the people's faces, the woman had short red hair while the two men had blond hair, one short bright blond and one had pale long blond hair. But they recognised them very quickly, they had not seen them in a long time and they were all confused as to how they got here.

"Alistair, Zevran, Leliana?" Daylen questioned

Zevran smirked "So, it seems that we missed quite a bit."

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well, consider this my Christmas gift to you all. This chapter was difficult to write as I did not know the Red Dragon Archfiend deck well and bringing in Sereda's deck to use was awkward for me to write. At first, I didn't want to have Sereda duel but since she was at the Temple, I needed her to duel. And yes, I brought in the former Shadow Riders into this story which I had planned on doing when I started this. The next chapter will be more of a flashback telling everyone how these three got into the Dimension of Dragons. The next story I will be updating will be my Mass Wars story but I really doubt that I will finish the chapter before the end of the year so this will likely be my last update of 2019.**


End file.
